


Let's get lost into the stars

by LeeHyunjin



Category: GOT7, Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 18:13:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 28,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29580078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeHyunjin/pseuds/LeeHyunjin
Summary: When they first met in Sydney, they were still children.  Despite slight communication difficulties, the two boys quickly became friends.  But then Hyunjin and his family had to go back to Korea and leave Felix behind.  He didn't believe in seeing the boy with the stars on his cheeks again.  But time flew by and Hyunjin, now 20 years old, is on his way to work when he bumps into a stranger.  Not paying much attention to the incident at first, the young man only realizes later that the stranger had freckles that remind him of stars.  Will he see the no longer so strange man again?  A Hyunlix fanfiction
Relationships: Bang Chan/Han Jisung | Han, Bang Chan/Lee Felix, Hwang Hyunjin/Lee Felix, Im Jaebum | JB/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Seo Changbin/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

Prologue

The night was mild, not a cloud could be seen, not even the slightest breeze could be felt. For Hyunjin it was the last night in Australia, the last night with his new friend. He had met Felix during the two weeks he and his family had vacationed in Sydney and made friends with him almost immediately. However, this was preceded by a heated discussion. The boy couldn't say what it was all about again or how it had come about in the first place. But he didn't really care, because all his attention was on the boy next to him. They had made themselves comfortable on the balcony that belonged to Felix's room and were watching the stars that shone high above their heads together. They shared a blanket that hung loosely over their shoulders and hot tea steamed in the cups they held between their hands. Hyunjin knew he might be acting a little strange, but he couldn't help but look at Felix. They were both ten years old, but Felix looked younger. He had a plump face and large dark eyes, which made him look incredibly cute. An almost fascinated smile lay on his lips as he gazed spellbound at the stars.

Hyunjin caught himself beginning to compare Felix to the starry sky when his gaze fell on his friend's freckles. They spread over the little nose and cheeks and looked like a constellation. Almost as if in a trance, the older one raised his hand to touch the stars that were within reach.

"I'll miss you Hyunnie ..."

These words, whispered in broken Korean, startled Hyunjin. He blinked in confusion, but then quickly withdrew his hand after realizing what he was about to do. Finally his eyes wandered back to Felix. The younger boy had meanwhile bowed his head and seemed to be staring at his cup. Hyunjin couldn't say whether that was really the case, since Felix's black hair blocked the view of his eyes. However, the tense posture of the younger one revealed how depressed he was.

Hyunjin pressed his lips together, then moved closer to Felix and put an arm around Felix's narrow shoulders. "I'll miss you too, Lixie. But we can also write to each other. And we can also make phone calls. Maybe we can visit each other," said the older man, a little helplessly, in the hope of being able to comfort his friend . He had never been very good at this, but now he was really trying his best. And it actually seemed to work, because Felix raised his head again and looked at with wide eyes. "Do you think that is possible? I mean, do you think our parents will allow that?" Asked the younger boy, a little uncertain, which Hyunjin replied with an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah sure, don't worry!" He said with a big grin. Lo and behold, the corners of Felix's mouth rose again.

"Then everything will be fine. I was just afraid that we would never see each other again."

"We will see each other again! And before that we will talk on the phone every day and I'll write you a letter every week. I promise you that!"

"And when we meet again, will we watch the stars together again?"

"As long and as often as you want, Bokie."

This unpopular nickname earned Hyunjin a rather firm blow to the shoulder. "Don't call me that, I hate that!" Felix complained with fluffed cheeks, while Hyunjin rubbed his shoulder with a mock hurt look. "You just hurt me badly!" The older one complained.

"You are such a drama queen, Hyunjin!"

"And you're still a real baby koala, Felix!"

The two stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds, then they started laughing and only calmed down again when their stomachs started to hurt. Still giggling, Felix rubbed a few tears of laughter from his eyes and then smiled at Hyunjin. "We'll talk on the phone every day, write a letter every week, maybe visit each other and when we meet again we'll watch the stars together again, as long and as often as I want.", He finally summarized again, whereupon Hyunjin nodded.

"I agree!"

"Pinky Promise?"

"Pinky Promise."

Hyunjin put his little finger on Felix 'while the two boys smiled at each other.

And when the plane took off for Korea the next day, Hyunjin was sitting in his seat and looking at his little finger, resolving to keep that promise.

But fate had long since had other plans for the two.

Tbc


	2. Chapter 2

"We'll meet again, promise?"

"Promised!"

"Pinky Promise?"

"Pinky Promise."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The young man's eyes widened. His breathing was difficult and he was shaking slightly as he slowly sat up and rubbed his face in exhaustion. That dream had haunted him for some time and he just couldn't understand why. Maybe it was his guilty conscience for not keeping his promise. But that was years ago and he wasn't the only one who hadn't kept in touch. Maybe he should have tried, but apparently Felix didn't want to see him again, otherwise a letter would have come from him. Or a phone call. Or any other indication that he wanted to hold onto their friendship.

You could have tried as well. You could have started.

There it was again, the guilty conscience that had gnawed at him long enough. Of course he had missed the other boy, but he was getting older and over the years he had dismissed their so-called friendship as a simple holiday acquaintance. He would never see Felix again anyway, why should he hold on to it?

Hyunjin sighed and dropped his hands, then checked his alarm clock. It was 5 p.m. and he could have slept an hour before going to work. But now he was awake and he knew that there would have been no point in lying down again.

Surrendering to this fact, Hyunjin got up slowly and stretched himself first before he went to the window and pulled up the blinds. Bright sunlight shone towards him and it took a few moments to get used to the brightness. Finally he opened the window to let fresh air into his bedroom and propped himself up with his hands on the window ledge.

It had been 10 years since he had been in Sydney with his parents. Hyunjin was now 20 years old and worked as a bartender. Not exactly what his parents had in mind for him, but the young man enjoyed his job and that was probably the main thing.

A slight grin crept on Hyunjin's face when he thought of the stunned faces of his parents when he had told them his career choice. His mother had sunk into her chair and stared at him with big eyes while his father had tried desperately to talk him out of what he called this nonsense. But Hyunjin had remained stubborn, crossed his arms over his chest and made it unmistakably clear to them that it was still his life and that he had to decide, not her. His parents had to give in as a result, whether they liked it or not. They later accepted his decision and even helped him find an apartment so that he doesn't have to go that far to work.

Hyunjin were still grateful to them today. He was generally grateful to his parents for everything they had done for him. Without her he would not have become what he was today. A self-employed young man with a job and an apartment that he even kept reasonably clean. At least most of the time.

The grin turned into a smile when he briefly closed his eyes and enjoyed the fresh air for a moment, then pushed himself off the windowsill and went to his closet. Then he got ready for work earlier today. Maybe he should be nice and go there earlier to give Minho a little help. Minho was a waiter, Hyunjin's best friend, and he really felt sorry for him. His shift always started an hour earlier than Hyunjins and, curiously, it was already packed at that time. But well, the club they worked at was pretty popular too. So not so strange after all.

Armed with clean clothes, Hyunjin finally went to the bathroom to shower and do a little bit of style. Today he had opted for a white shirt and black jeans, which accentuated his figure but also didn't make him look cheap. After he had finished showering and slipped into the said clothes, Hyunjin finally stood in front of the mirror and combed his blond hair, which he finally tied into a pigtail.

Satisfied with the way he looked, he put his used clothes in the washing machine and finally went to the kitchen. For a moment he thought about cooking something to eat, but then decided against it. That would be too time-consuming and as he knew himself, he would be allowed to change clothes afterwards. "I should put on an apron," the young man said to himself while making some sandwiches. He was about to eat two of them, the others were for work.

Some time later his stomach was full and the rest of the sandwiches stowed away in a Tupperware box. Now he could confidently make his way to work. He put the Tupperware box in his pocket and put on his jacket and shoes, then left his apartment and set off.

'You can tell it's Friday ...', Hyunjin shot through his head when he was knocked over by a passerby for what felt like the thousandth time. The city center was full of people who were returning from work, doing their last weekend shopping or already making their way to one of the many clubs. And then there was him, who wasn't lucky enough to go to a well-deserved evening or let himself be crushed in the overcrowded supermarkets. Secretly envious of his fellow human beings, he continued on his way more badly than right, always taking care not to be run over and fall over. As much as Hyunjin loved his job, there were times, like just now, when he cursed having a job where he had to work shifts. Especially when it was Friday and he was on late shift.

Hyunjin had just squeezed past a guy who was twice as tall and twice as wide as himself, and was about to exhale with relief because this fellow's cupboard had apparently not registered him when he was suddenly jostled. The blond stumbled back a few steps and was barely able to stand on his feet. "You idiot, can't you be careful?" He scolded and looked angrily at the young man in front of him. But he didn't look at him, mumbled a hectic sounding "Excuse me" and then ran on. Hyunjin looked after the stranger in disbelief, then grimaced in disapproval and finally continued on his way. "Funny guy."

Tbc


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey dude, you are exactly ...", Minho looked at his watch and then looked at the blonde again with a grin, "Three quarters of an hour early. May you ask how I got the honor?" Hyunjin grinned a bit pained as he stowed his jacket and bag behind the counter. "Let me put it this way, a ghost from the past stopped me from staying home," he replied while grabbing an apron and tying it on. Minho raised an eyebrow and then propped himself up with his elbows on the counter. "An ex? Or one of your thousand debtors?", The brunette finally asked with a grin, whereupon Hyunjin gave him a light pat on the back of the head. "Idiot, I don't owe anyone anything and I don't have that many ex-girlfriends either." The blonde justified himself. "Better tell me if there's anything new." His best friend then shook his head. "No, just the normal, everyday madness. Although I have the feeling that it is even more crowded today than usual on the weekend." Hyunjin couldn't help but grin. "We're also on duty, so it's no wonder that people run into us." Minho laughed and rolled his eyes. "That didn't sound like a self-love at all."

"When you two are done with your small talk, I would appreciate it very much if you could start serving our guests." Hyunjin and Minho both startled and looked in the direction from which the serious voice had come. An annoyed-looking Im Jaebum stood there, arms crossed over his chest and with a look that could have put even the strongest and most fearless man in the world to flight. The two swallow nervously and quickly nodded their heads. They knew better than to mess with their boss or even remotely annoy him. "I hope so. Now let's get down to work!" A wave of the finger was enough for the two young men to sprint immediately.

While Hyunjin was mixing a drink for a young woman at the bar, his eyes fell on his best friend. Minho paced back and forth like a frightened chicken, taking orders and bringing her guests the drinks they wanted. His face was bright red, but Hyunjin was sure it wasn't work. The blond knew that Minho had a strong weakness for Jaebum, even if he didn't admit it. At least not when he was sober.

Hyunjin laughed lightly, then poured the drink into a glass, decorated it with a straw, and pushed it in front of the woman's nose. "Your sex on the beach, beauty.", He said with a charming smile, whereupon the young lady blushed and giggled softly. She was really pretty, and if Hyunjin had been into women, he would have tried to clear her number anyway. But after several failed relationships with various ladies, which was not only due to the rather lousy sex life, he finally came to the conclusion that he was gay.

At that moment he remembered his encounter with this strange stranger. He had been shorter than Hyunjin, had dyed blond hair just like him, and had an admittedly pretty face. The most striking thing about the young man, however, was the freckles. They had reminded Hyunjin of stars.

At that moment the shaker almost fell out of his hand. Freckles. Stars. Australia. That just could not be the case! Struggling with his composure, Hyunjin leaned against the counter and rubbed his face. That could only be a stupid coincidence. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He was at work, he had guests to serve.

Pull yourself together, Hwang Hyunjin!

He took a last deep breath, then looked again at the young woman, who was staring at him, confused and also a little worried. "You all right, honey?" She asked and he noticed that her voice sounded high and squeaky. I have no idea why he hadn't noticed it earlier or why he noticed it in the first place. He wasn't going to marry her or anything. "Sure, enjoy your drink.", Hyunjin answered and then turned to the next guests. It was probably a couple, or at least the two men seemed to have something to do with each other, as the taller of the two men had an arm around the waist of his companion. The blond eyed them both closely. The apparently older man seemed about his size, had brown hair and rather small eyes, and there was a smile on his lips. It was friendly and not fake, so he seemed quite personable. His companion was a good deal shorter, had blond hair and .... "You're the guy from before!", Hyunjin slipped out quite nonchalantly, whereupon he guiltily lowered his gaze and his lover looked at him amazed. "You know this guy, honey?" He asked, probably because of his reaction. And Hyunjin's nickname confirmed his suspicions that they were a couple. The smaller one looked up again and looked Hyunjin briefly in the eyes before he turned to his friend and nodded slightly.

He was just about to reply when Minho walked towards them. He looked more than finished, and his shift lasted a few hours. "Hyunjin, I tell you, I need a vacation. The people are terrible. Either they nag or they dig at you.", Said the brunette and sat down on one of the bar stools, crossed his arms on the counter and let his head rest on it fall. Hyunjin smiled and for a moment forgot his guests. "I think we all need a vacation. But you can do it, kid, head up.", Replied and patted Minho's head. The latter struck his hand like a fly and raised his head slightly to give him a failed death look. "Lick me, Hyunjin." "Sorry, you're cute, but I don't do anything with a married man." "I'm not married!" "Would you like to be and we both know with whom." Minho groaned annoyed and got up again. "I'm going again, your stupid talk is getting on my nerves." Hyunjin grinned broadly and blew him a kiss. "I love you too." His friend smiled sweetly at him, then showed him the middle finger and disappeared again between the guests.

Hyunjin grinned, he was visibly amused by the behavior of his best friend, then looked back to his guests and was about to start an apology when he noticed the look of the smaller one. He stared at him with big brown eyes, as if he couldn't believe that Hyunjin was actually standing in front of him. The blonde felt a little uncomfortable under this look. "Um, are you okay?" He asked carefully. At that moment the young man's facial expression changed, he put on an appraising look and said without looking away from Hyunjin: "Honey, let's go to another club. I don't like the bartender, he literally smells after betrayal . " These words made Hyunjin flinch. Whether it was the surprisingly deep voice or the terrifyingly angry sounding words, he didn't know. The taller of the two looked more confused than ever, but slowly nodded: "Uhm, okay .... Than let's go, Felix." And with that they were gone again, fitting a frozen Hyunjin back.

Tbc


	4. Chapter 4

The door to the break room flew shut with a loud bang, then Hyunjin leaned against it and tilted his head back, breathing heavily, staring at the ceiling.

He is it! It really is! But what is he doing here? And who is the guy who was with him? Is he really his friend? His lover? Or are they just doing something like that together?

These and many other questions came to Hyunjin's mind. And he felt miserable. The guilty conscience was more present than ever and it no longer just gnawed at him. He felt as if it had put its icy claws around his neck and was about to choke his breath. As a reflex, he put his hand to his throat, hoping to escape the stranglehold. The blonde knew that Felix was angry. Maybe hurt too. Maybe Hyunjin was completely wrong and the younger one now hated him profoundly. But did Felix have a right to put all the blame on him? No, he didn't. But did Hyunjin have the right to condemn the younger man for his harsh words? No, definitely not. They were both to blame for their friendship falling apart.

Then why did Hyunjin feel that there was more to it than that? That he was to blame more than he wanted. Or was he just overreacting because the shock of suddenly standing across from Felix had been too violent? The blonde was just confused.

He was jerked out of his thoughts when someone knocked impatiently on the door. "Hyunjin, open the door immediately!" Minho scolded angrily and only hit harder against the dark wood. Addressed sighed softly. As much as he loved his best friend, right now he would have preferred to be alone to sort his thoughts and clear his head again. But Hyunjin knew the brunette well enough to know that he would kick the door down if needed. That would in turn cause trouble with Jaebum. So he had no choice but to give in to Minho's request, and he slowly opened the door.

Minho looked at him angrily. "Are you stupid to just run away like that ?! I can't wait and do your bar service at the same time!" He grumbled, putting his hands on his hips. Great, one more to nourish Hyunjin's guilty conscience. The blonde bowed his head in embarrassment, knowing that Minho was right.

"I'm sorry. I ... I ... oh man!" Hyunjin brushed his hair desperately. He didn't care that he had loosened his braid through this action and now some blond strands fell on his face. This reaction seemed to have aroused Minho's pity, because his features softened instantly and he looked at the older man with concern. "Hyunnie, what happened?" He asked, lowering his hands slowly.

Hyunjin let out a shaky breath and pressed his lips together, then looked past Minho and fixed his eyes on some point on the wall. "When I was little, my parents and I went on vacation to Sydney. There I met a boy. He was my age and we became friends very quickly. I even managed to teach him a little Korean. Unfortunately, I had to we say goodbye after two weeks because our vacation was over. We promised to stay in touch. But nothing came of it. Hardly arrived in Korea, I pushed our promise more and more backwards. And from there nothing came to him either, I ticked off this so-called friendship at some point as an entertaining holiday acquaintance. I had just assumed that we would never see each other again anyway. But then earlier he was at my bar with some strange guy Didn't seem to have recognized me at first, but then you came and talked to me. I think he noticed that you called me by my name. Then he did He just looked at me appraisingly and said to his lover, or whatever that guy was doing, that he wanted to go to another club because he didn't like the bartender because he smelled of treason ... And that's so damn unfair you know I wasn't the only one who didn't answer and he treated me like the biggest asshole of all time. ", Hyunjin finally said with a trembling voice. Minho had been listening to him the whole time, then he sighed quietly and pulled the other man in a gentle hug.

"If I may give my opinion ... I think you are both a little to blame for the whole thing. You could both have reported yourselves to each other. It would be unfair to blame only one of you," he said Brunette with a low voice, caressing Hyunjin's head soothingly. He had clung to his best friend and buried his face in the crook of his neck. The blonde was a bit surprised that the whole thing was pretty upsetting to him. After all these years he had assumed that this topic wouldn't affect him so much. But he must have been mistaken.

At that moment, quick steps could be heard and Jaebum was angry next to them. "Are you abandoned by all good spirits ?! You just leave our guests standing there just because you felt the need to cuddle ?! Do you actually know what kind of picture ours ..." Jaebum couldn't keep up his tirade, because Minho had turned his head to him and looked at him seriously. "Sorry, Mr. Im, but Hyunjin is doing pretty bad. Would you have preferred if he had puked on the counter in front of all the guests present?" he interrupted her boss, which caused a lot of respect in Hyunjin. No one else had dared to interrupt Im Jaebum. Especially not if you were secretly in love with him. Hyunjin just hoped that Minho hadn't wasted all possible chances at Jaebum because of him.

The blonde slowly raised his head, only to meet the scrutinizing gaze of the black-haired man. But it seemed so pathetic that Jaebum finally sighed and rubbed his forehead with his thumb and forefinger. "Okay .... Hyunjin, you go home. Minho, you call Jisung so he can take over Hyunjin's service." The two were relieved that their boss did understand. While Hyunjin nodded slightly and managed a crooked smile, Minho beamed at Jaebum. "Thank you very much, Mr. Im, and yes, I'll do it right away.", The brunette said eagerly and nodded his head vigorously. Jaebum smiled but didn't say a word and turned to go. Hyunjin could have sworn that the black-haired man had mumbled something to himself in the direction of "Sweet, the little one".

After Jaebum disappeared again, Hyunjin looked at his friend and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Minho. You have something good with me." "You can assume that. And now you move your ass home. I'll ask Jisung if he can take over your job tomorrow, and I'll come back to you after work.", Minho replied in a stern voice. And once again the blonde was grateful that Minho was his best friend. The brunette had saved his ass more times than Hyunjin would like.

Tbc.


	5. Chapter 5

It was already dark when Hyunjin left the bar. Had he really been at work that long? It hadn't seemed like that to him at all. He sighed and looked up at the night sky. When was the last time he looked up at the stars? When was the last time he really noticed this beauty? That must have been in Sydney, on this little balcony, cuddled in a blanket and with a hot cup of tea in his hands. The blonde sighed softly and then pressed his lips together. When did he get so maudlin please? That was ridiculous! It was absolutely not him! Hyunjin shook his head and took a deep breath. So Felix was in Korea now. Nice for him! In any case, Hyunjin wasn't interested in what brought the Australian to Asia. Or who exactly that guy was. Or what Felix was doing right now. Or in which hotel he might be ..... Enough now!

Hyunjin marched off, desperately forcing himself not to waste any more thought on the younger one. It had been unfavorable enough how Felix's sudden appearance had affected Hyunjin's behavior - Jaebum had to think something else of him now! - Thanks to the guy, the blonde was now two days off work, which meant less wages. And Hyunjin did not get so much wages that he could absolutely afford absenteeism. So no, he didn't want to waste any more thought on Felix.

Hyunjin was so busy not thinking about Felix that he no longer paid any attention to his surroundings and ran into the first passer-by to cross his path. The blonde stumbled back and swore softly. Today was clearly not his day. He looked up and was about to apologize when he realized who he'd run into. And he had to correct himself, the guy was even bigger than him. Not much, but it was him.

Said guy looked at him with a raised eyebrow and seemed to be waiting for an apology or at least an explanation. The blonde sighed in resignation and then smiled mockingly. "I need to apologize, I was in hurry and didn't focused on the way.", He said finally and bowed slightly.

"At least you still have a little decency."

That deep voice, that extraordinary accent, that broken Korean ... Hyunjin looked up hastily, only to look into Felix's eyes. He had crossed his arms over his chest and looked at him. Estimating. How Hyunjin hated that look ... "Well, it was my fault too, wasn't it?", He finally answered and straightened up completely. It towered over the younger by a good head. Just like before. Some things never seemed to change.

Felix hadn't averted his gaze from the blonde and didn't seem particularly impressed that he was still the smaller of them. Hyunjin looked back in silence, then rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Listen ... About back then ..." he began, but was immediately interrupted by Felix. "Save yourself your explanations. I don't want to hear them. To be precise, I don't want to hear anything from you let alone see anything. The fact that we met in this filthy ditch was a damn coincidence that I would have gladly done without. "said the younger one in a calm voice, but these words sounded so final that Hyunjin had to swallow. His eyes were burning, but he wasn't going to give Felix the satisfaction now and burst into tears in front of him. He was strong, he stood above it.

The blonde looked at Felix and slowly nodded. "Fine, as you like. Then I want you and your ... I don't know what to stop.", Hyunjin finally replied and was proud of himself that he had managed to keep his voice so much under control that she wasn't trembling.

The younger one smiled a bit, then took the hand of the other boy who had been standing next to them the whole time. Probably he hadn't understood a word and that was more than okay with Hyunjin. It was Felix who spoke again. "Right, you don't know Chris yet. He's my friend. My boyfriend. So you see, I don't need you in my life, I have him and enough other friends who - oh wonder! - stick to agreements and Don't break their promises. Well then, I wish you a good life, Hyunnie. " With that, Felix pulled Chris with him, and Hyunjin couldn't help but look after them until they were completely out of sight.

Then he wanted to continue on his way too, but his legs no longer seemed to obey him. He stood there petrified as he tried to understand what had just happened. Felix's words echoed through his head like a mantra, over and over again. So the Australian really blamed him and it wasn't too bad to show it directly. He hadn't even tried to have a conversation. He hadn't even let Hyunjin explain.

The blonde felt a big lump forming in his throat. He tried hard to swallow it, but he couldn't. His vision blurred, he blinked slightly and the first tears rolled down his cheeks. Hyunjin bit his lower lip and defiantly wiped his face with the sleeve of his jacket. He didn't want to cry now! Especially not because of a person he'd graduated with years ago!

Forcing himself to do so, Hyunjin finally continued his way home and forbade himself in any form not to cry again, let alone waste a thought on the Australian. This had been difficult for him earlier, but the incident just now should be reason enough to finally put this project into practice.

But Hyunjin didn't get very far when suddenly a figure built up in front of him. It didn't take long for the blonde to recognize her and he struggled to resist the urge not to roll his eyes. But before he could ask what Chris wanted from him, he had already grabbed his collar. "He has told me all. It's your damn fault he suffered for so long!" Hyunjin blinked in confusion and tried to free himself from the man's grip. He didn't understand what he wanted from him with the best will in the world. But Hyunjin didn't have a chance to rake either. Chris reached out and punched his fist in the face. Hyunjin gave a startled gasp and fell to the ground. He stared at the man in front of him with wide eyes and pressed the sleeve of his jacket onto his bleeding nose. Chris was foaming with anger that showed his contorted face and trembling fists. But he still seemed to keep himself under control as he hadn't beaten Hyunjin until he was ready for hospital. "Stay away from him or I will kill you." With these words Chris disappeared again, leaving Hyunjin crouching on the floor with a broken nose.

Tbc


	6. Chapter 6

"Seriously, Hyunjin? Can't someone take their eyes off you for five minutes without getting into trouble?" Minho scolded as he and the blonde left the hospital. The brunette immediately went to see his best friend after work, as he had announced. He found Hyunjin crouching on the roadside not far from his home with a bleeding nose and immediately rushed him to the hospital after learning what had happened.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes slightly and carefully felt his bandaged nose. He immediately regretted it when a sharp pain spread across his face and made him wince. "The guy was waiting for me! I definitely didn't encourage him to break my damn nose.", The blonde finally moaned, which made his best friend sigh in annoyance. "I know that myself. I just wanted to suggest that you have the great talent to stumble from one mess to the next. And stop fiddling with your nose, it will only make it worse," Minho den reproved Bigger finally, whereupon the latter dropped his hand again.

"Sometimes you sound like my mother, you know that?", Hyunjin grumbled and saw from the corner of his eye that a small grin crept on Minho's face. "I like her, so I'll take that as a compliment now," replied the brunette, winking coquettishly. Finally they both had to laugh and after they had calmed down again, Hyunjin smiled at him. "I really don't know what I would do without you," the blonde said honestly. Minho then looked at him with a mock serious look. "Without me you could have been looking at the radishes from below for a long time." It was supposed to be a joke, but this time Hyunjin didn't laugh. He was now looking directly at Minho. "To be honest, I think so too.", The blonde finally replied and looked straight ahead again. This time Minho made no reply and they continued on their way in silence.

When they finally got to Hyunjin's apartment, the blonde unlocked the door and let his best friend go first before he entered himself and closed the door again. Minho had turned on the light and taken off his shoes, and then went into the living room. That was her usual routine whenever the brunette was visiting his friend. And that was so often that Hyunjin already included it in his inventory.

After he had taken off his shoes and jacket and got two glasses and a bottle of Coke from the kitchen, Hyunjin had also gone into the living room and collapsed on the couch next to Minho. The brunette had just been busy zapping through the television program. Then he must have noticed that nothing was going on, because he switched the television off again and smilingly took the glass of Coke that the blonde had poured him in the meantime. "Thanks, Jinnie." And Hyunjin couldn't see how Minho had emptied the glass so quickly. He blinked a few times and then grinned crookedly. "Uhm, do you want something else? Seems to be quite thirsty." Minho then nodded his head vigorously and beamed at the taller one. "That would be great!", And held his glass under his friend's nose. "You already know that we and we can have a drink in a club, right?", Hyunjin asked, shaking his head, but copied the glass again.

Minho then took another sip, then looked at Hyunjin. "I know, but first I would have to pay for it, and besides, I have no time at work. You know that hell is always going on with us. It's terrible during the week, but on weekends you hardly have time to ever going to the toilet. Uhm, speaking of which ... "The brunette put his glass on the living room table and got up." Excuse me for a moment. " With these words he disappeared into the bathroom.

Hyunjin watched him go for a moment, then he too came to fill his glass with Coke and drink. Chris' words shot through his head over and over again.

Is it my fault that Felix had to suffer? What did I do to him? Is it because of our promise? Is it really that close to him? Then why doesn't he just confront me? Why doesn't he talk to me about it? Maybe I should talk to him about it if I run into him again ...

Hyunjin looked at the half-full glass in his hand and sighed softly. Would that really be such a good idea? If he would see Felix again, Chris would be there too and the blonde didn't want the Australian to break anything more than just his nose. The question arose whether Felix knew about this attack. Whether he had asked Chris to urge Hyunjin again to stay out of his life. But did the blonde really trust the little Australian with such deviousness and cowardice? Part of him wouldn't really be surprised after everything that had happened in the past few hours. But there was, funnily enough, the other part that just couldn't believe it and didn't want to. Who still saw the ten year old innocent Felix with big brown eyes and the cute hamster cheeks in front of him.

But times changed people, as everyone knows, and who knows what was left of little Felix. As is well known, caution was the mother of the china box, and Hyunjin would take this saying to heart from now on. He made that very clear.

"Oh no, not that I'm-bathing-in-self-pity face again, Hyunjin!" The blonde winced, frightened, he hadn't noticed that Minho was already back and sitting next to him. The brunette sighed and leaned sideways against the arm of the sofa. "What's going through your stupid head, huh? Still your holiday acquaintance?", He finally asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question. Hyunjin then grimaced and shook his head vigorously. "No! I don't give a shit. Let him do what he wants," replied the taller one more violently than intended. Minho then looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "But that looked completely different before, my dear. You looked as if you were going to burst into tears the next moment."

Hyunjin dropped back against the arm of the sofa and tilted his head back. "I don't know myself what was wrong with me, okay? Maybe it was just the shock to see him standing there all of a sudden or whatever.", Came the sparse explanation of what Minho was only aware of let shake his head. "Anyway ... Jisung has taken over your service by the way. I should inform you that he - I quote - is hyper-super-monster-like gigantically very worried about you and that you should recover." Hyunjin had to laugh slightly at this. Han Jisung was the second bartender and was also Hyunjin's substitute if the blonde was absent. Jisung was known for his infectiously cheerful disposition and hyperactivity. In addition, you could hear him from ten kilometers away without any problems when he screamed. That was pretty fun, unless you were on a roller coaster with him.

"Say thank you to the squirrel for me and that I will return the favor, will you?", Hyunjin finally asked his friend. Minho looked at him in disbelief, probably wondering why Hyunjin wasn't doing it himself, but finally he grabbed his cell phone. The blonde smiled and closed his eyes. He couldn't sleep just yet, but a little eye care couldn't hurt.

"Hyunjin, do you have a pad and pen? Jisung wrote that Mr. Im posted the roster, and he was so nice and took a photo of it and sent it to me.", Minho asked at that moment. The blonde didn't want to move and pointed his hand at his desk, which was in a corner of the living room. "Drawer top right.", He mumbled, whereupon a rustling could be heard and a little later a wooden drawer became pulled up and rummaged around in it.

"Is that him?"

This question puzzled Hyunjin and he opened his eyes to look at his friend. In addition to the pad, Minho also held a picture frame in his hand, which he showed the blonde. Two children could be seen on it, hugging each other and staring happily at the camera. At the sight of the photo, Hyunjin was suddenly wide awake. He jumped up, took quick steps towards Minho, snatched the picture from his hand and tossed it back into the drawer, which he finally closed again quickly.

He could literally feel Minho's startled gaze on him, but didn't look at him. "This is the past. Nothing matters, okay?" The blonde mumbled and disappeared into the bathroom to shower and change.

But Hyunjin could still hear Minho's words, which he muttered to himself.

"Nothing of importance .... You probably don't believe that yourself, Hwang Hyunjin. And if you do, you're really even more stupid than I thought."

Tbc.


	7. Chapter 7

Hyunjin did not know whether he should do this to himself or not rather heroically flee when a Jisung, wildly rowing his arms, rushed towards him. He had spent the last two days at home and he had to admit that it was good for him. In addition, Minho hadn't asked him about this damned photo, even if the blonde knew that his friend had a few questions that he would have loved to ask. Fortunately that hadn't happened. Hyunjin now had another, much bigger problem too. And that clings to him like an oversized spider monkey.

"Jisung, let go of me! You are crushing me!", Hyunjin gasped and tried desperately to push the other away from him. But without success. This oversized squirrel looked at him with wide eyes and took a deep breath. The blonde panicked. He knew exactly what was coming next.

"Hyunnniiiiiiiieeeeee, when Minho called me and asked if I could take your shift, I knew that something must have happened. You would never go home for no reason." Jisung chatted off, and it was a mystery to Hyunjin how the guy could chat so much without taking a breath and not suffocating. Said guy was still looking at him with big eyes, then he raised his hand and patted the blonde's nose directly. That idiot! Hyunjin reflexively turned his head away and thus escaped Jisung's grave attack. "Stop it! That hurts, you idiot!", The blonde hissed, "And could you have the goodness to finally let go of me? You're crushing me!" Oh, how he hated it when someone patted him unsolicited. Jisung pouted at this, but finally let go of Hyunjin. "Sorry for worrying," he grumbled. Hyunjin took a sigh of relief and looked at his friend. "That's really sweet of you, but you don't have to crush me or touch my nose for that.", Said the blonde and smiled conciliatory. "Sorry that I hit you like that. I'll buy you a drink for that. No matter what, you can choose."

Jisung looked at him in silence for a few moments longer and looked as if he was considering whether to accept the offer and thereby agree to a reconciliation or whether he should continue sulking and ignore Hyunjin for an excruciating ten minutes. Finally, the prospect of a free drink seemed to have been more tempting, because a broad smile appeared on the face of the human squirrel and he nodded his head vigorously so that a few strands of his light brown hair fell on his face. "All right! Then I want a Tequila Sunrise!" He demanded while straightening his hair with a few quick movements. Another quality Hyunjin envied his colleagues for. Jisung could be standing somewhere in the middle of the forest and still manage to style his hair or accentuate his eyes with an eyeliner. And that without a mirror! He didn't know anyone else who would manage it. Jisung also publicly admitted that he was gay. Hyunjin would like to have this courage.

"A Tequila Sunrise, come immediately, young lady.", The blonde joked while he put on his apron and reached for the shaker. It was good to be back at the club, he had missed it sorely, even if he had only been away for two days. Okay, a day and a half, but didn't have to be too specific.

Jisung sank down on one of the bar stools with fluffed cheeks. "You look a lot more feminine than I do, so shut up! You can be happy that I'm even here to help you a little. Mr Im said that since you are not in that good shape at the moment, I should give you a little help. " Hyunjin rolled his eyes at these words and sighed in annoyance. Now his boss thought he was a weakling too, great. Jisung must have noticed his reaction, because he smiled at him encouragingly. "Come on, don't be annoyed right now. Mr. Im knows what he's got about you and is just worried about you. Just like he is about every one of his employees cares. " He nodded inconspicuously to Minho, who was just writing down a guest's order on his little pad. "By the way, our boss is particularly concerned about him. But psh, you didn't get that from me. And don't tell Minho about it." the brown-haired one with a wink and laid his index finger promisingly on his lips.

Hyunjin had to grin broadly. He had already guessed it, and now Jisung has confirmed it. He was good friends with Jaebum's best friend Jinyoung, and he had to know best. Whereby the blonde is sure to be true that Jinyoung hadn't quite voluntarily told the brown-haired man. While Jisung looked harmless and a hopeless nonsense cheek, he also knew how to get what he wanted. He just needed the right resources for it. If Jisung had wanted, he would have been guaranteed to have usurped the world, and no one would have minded.

Hyunjin poured the drink into a glass and passed it to Jisung. He took a sip and grinned contentedly. "You really know how to get someone addicted." The blonde then winked at him. "That's how it should be, isn't it?"

At that moment, three young men joined them at the bar and sat down on the stools. Hyunjin turned to the new guests and wanted to ask them about their order, but when he saw who was sitting, the words stuck in his throat. Two of the three newcomers turned out to be Chris and Felix, the third Hyunjin did not know. But he looked very familiar with the couple, so it had to be a good friend of theirs. They were just deep in conversation, and the blonde wanted to seize the opportunity and get out of the affair with the excuse of having to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately he did the math without Jisung.

"Hyunjin, do you just want to stare at the boys, or do you want to serve them too?", He asked with a laugh and probably thought it was funny that the person he was speaking to got red cheeks with shame. Jisung would regret that ... He will bleed for that, Hyunjin resolved to do. In any case, he was able to forget his beautiful escape plan, because Jisung had drawn the men's attention to himself and thus also to Hyunjin with his testimony. The blonde found it fascinating how different the reactions of the three of them were from each other.

Chris' face darkened instantly when he saw Hyunjin. Felix grinned at him triumphantly, he must have seen his bandaged nose, and the mysterious third man smiled friendly. It was also he who spoke. "Ah, sorry, we'd better order. Three Batida de Coco, please." Hyunjin meanwhile had chosen to remain professional and nodded with a smile. "Three times a Batida de Coco for the three gentlemen.", He said and got to work. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jisung practically irradiating Chris with his atomic smile.

Forget it, dude, he's taken.

Hyunjin barely noticeably shook his head at his friend's naivete. But when he turned back to serve his guests their drinks, Hyunjin was surprised to find that Jisung had actually managed to engage Chris in a conversation.

Why am I still wondering? This idiot somehow always gets everything he wants.

But he couldn't care less. That's why he didn't interfere in the conversation and put the glasses on the counter. "Your order, enjoy it.", He smiled at Felix and the stranger. The latter returned the smile. "That was quick." He grabbed one of the glasses and took a sip. "And it tastes fantastic!" He exclaimed enthusiastically. "What's your name, Mr. Bartender?" Hyunjin had to grin slightly at the young man's outburst, then cocked his head slightly. "I am Hyunjin." "Nice to meet you. By the way, my name is Changbin.", The stranger finally introduced himself. Now Hyunjin could also assign a name to this face

At that moment the blonde felt that he was being watched and looked to the side. So he could just see how Felix quickly averted his gaze and hastily engaged Changbin in a conversation. Hyunjin could have sworn he had seen concern in the Australian's eyes for a split second. As if on cue, Felix grabbed his glass and took a sip, then grimaced as if he had drunk something incredibly disgusting. Hyunjin had probably only imagined the worry in Felix's eyes, because he was now complaining to Changbin about his drink. Changbin didn't seem to understand what his friend's problem was, because shortly afterwards Felix crossed his arms in front of his chest, insulted. Hyunjin turned away from the scene and began to serve the next guests. After all, it was none of his business what the two of them were talking about.

Tbc


	8. Chapter 8

If only he had overheard this damn conversation! Cursing himself mentally, Hyunjin stood in Mr. Im's office and let his lecture go through him. He had been amazed when Felix and his people paid a short time later and disappeared again, leaving behind a half-full, a barely touched and an unused glass. He had wondered why they had ordered anything from him at all, but then shrugged his shoulders and put the glasses in the dishwasher after he had thrown their contents away. As it turned out later, that was probably a mistake, because shortly afterwards Minho came to him and told him that Mr. Im wanted to see him in his office and immediately.

And now Hyunjin was standing here in front of his boss's desk and didn't even have the time to defend himself or at least to explain himself. Jaebum was furious, he even got up from his chair. "THREE complaints, Hyunjin! Three complaints because you wanted to sell inedible drinks! Are you abandoned by all good spirits ?! If that gets around, the guests will stay away! Besides, what do you get into watching our guests! You know you how does that come across ?! " The blonde ducked his head slightly and looked down as he chewed on his lower lip. What else should he say about that? He didn't even get around to clearing it up.

At that moment Jaebum stopped his ranting. Hyunjin immediately took this chance and looked up again. "Mr Im, I can assure you that I haven't sold anything inedible. I made the drinks as always, so I can't explain how these complaints came about.", The blonde finally defended himself, and inside himself Anger slowly built up. He could now guess who had complained to his boss. There had only been three guests he had more or less 'stared at'. And since this allegation had been made in connection with the supposedly inedible drinks, it was all too obvious to whom he owed his predicament. But why had all three complained? Changbin said he liked it. He didn't understand.

Jaebum sighed softly and rubbed his face. "Listen, you are one of my best employees. You are always reliable and do your work almost perfectly. I don't know what's going on, but for the last few days you've been completely withdrawn and your thoughts everywhere, just not with you Your job. I don't want to fire you, but given your current condition, I've decided to take you off for the whole week. It's really not easy for me, but it's for the best. " Hyunjin heard these words as if through cotton wool. That couldn't be true now! "But ...", the blonde started to protest, but his boss raised his hand and stopped him in his plan. It was hopeless. Hyunjin's lower lip began to quiver, but he wasn't going to cry now. Instead, he accepted Jaebum's decision, even if it was difficult for him, and nodded slightly. "Only this week?", He asked again as a precaution, whereupon the black-haired nodded slightly. "Next Tuesday you will come to your shift as usual. If everything goes smoothly again and you are back to normal, I can let you loose on the guests again.", Jaebum answered and an encouraging smile stole on his lips he leaned over to Hyunjin and patted his shoulder briefly, "And now go into your free space." Hyunjin sighed softly, bowed briefly and then left the office with quick steps.

At the bar, Jisung and Minho were already waiting for their friend and looked at him curiously. "And? What did he want from you, Hyunnie?", Minho asked and looked at him waiting. However, Hyunjin's answer was a long time coming, he pushed his way past the two young men and went behind the counter, where he took off his apron and angrily threw it on the countertop. His colleagues looked at each other startled and Jisung opened his mouth to say something, but Hyunjin cut him off. "I have been released for a week. Mr Im has explained to me through the flower that he currently considers me to be insane and therefore cannot let go of our guests.", He explained in a hoarse voice while he was putting on his jacket. "That means you have to get along without me for now."

"What did he do ?!" Minho said in horror while Jisung jumped up. "Why is that?", The brown-haired wanted to know angrily. "Because there were complaints. I would supposedly sell inedible shit to the guests and stare at them all the time." Jisung winced barely noticeably, he seemed to have recognized that he was not entirely innocent of Hyunjin's situation. Minho, however, looked at his best friend seriously and turned around. "I'll talk to Mr. Im. He can't just release you, we need you here.", Said the brunette and was about to go, but Hyunjin held him by the upper arm and prevented him from doing his thing. "Take it easy, it's enough if one of us has stress with him," he said with a forced smile, then turned to Jisung. "Represent me well here, will you?" The person addressed only nodded slightly and looked embarrassed at the floor. Hyunjin should be angry with the brown-haired man, but he couldn't. In the end, Jisung was only indirectly used to blacken Hyunjin on her boss. The blonde put a hand on his colleague's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Don't worry, you can't help it, okay?" He tried to cheer him up. Jisung could get on your nerves, but Hyunjin preferred a hyperactive squirrel to a dejected squirrel. His words didn't seem to have missed their effect, because Jisung looked at him again and even managed a smile. Hyunjin grinned back, then hugged them both again and finally left the club.

When he got outside, the first thing he saw was an ice-cold wind, which made him shiver. He put his hands in his jacket pockets and walked on, now and then avoiding people who came towards him. He recognized some of them as regular customers, but they did not greet him, so he too just walked on without saying a word. It could just as well have been that they hadn't recognized him because he had pulled his scarf up to his nose. The blonde wouldn't have been in the mood for small talk anyway, at the moment he was generally not in the mood for any interpersonal interactions. He was happy when he had his peace and quiet and could think. No, when he thought about it, Felix was mostly the main topic, so he was more than happy when he was left alone and didn't have to think about anything.

But as so often in the last few days, he was not granted this rest. Hyunjin hadn't got very far when someone got in his way. The blond stopped abruptly and was surprised to see Felix standing in front of him. But he wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not. Nor did he know whether to be happy that the Australian was alone.

The smaller one grinned slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. "A little early to call it a day, right?" Hyunjin pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. "How do you know when my shift is over, Felix?" He asked then, "Are you stalking me?" This question made Felix laugh out loud, it was the perfect contrast to his dark voice. "Your brown-haired friend chatters a little too much. So no, I don't stalk you. I'm sorry to have to disappoint you.", He finally answered and ran his fingers through his short blonde hair.

It suits him well ...

But Hyunjin would do a devil to speak that thought out loud. Afterwards Felix would report him for sexual harassment or something. "... eight? Hey, I'm talking to you, you idiot!" Felix's harsh voice made Hyunjin startled out of his thoughts. He blinked in confusion and replied a witty "Huh?", Whereupon the younger one just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"I asked you what you did with your nose, you sparrow-brain." This statement almost made Hyunjin laugh. But only almost.

As if you didn't know ...

"I don't know what that has to do with you.", He replied instead in a biting voice. "And now I apologize, I'm tired and want to go home." With these words, Hyunjin wanted to pass Felix, but the smaller one held on to his wrist. "Whoever that was ... I'm sorry that happened," he muttered, causing Hyunjin to look at him perplexed. Felix, on the other hand, seemed to prefer to stare at the floor.

For a moment the blonde didn't know how to react. Was the guy kidding him? First he acted like an asshole and then out of the blue was he worried? "Look out, I don't know how you got the idea that I'm going to buy this number from you, but stop kidding. You've been acting like a bastard since we met again, so why should I now believe? ", he replied angrily and wanted to tear himself away, but Felix held him with an astonishing strength and now looked directly at him. He didn't want to, but his heart contracted when he saw the little one's sad look. "I'm serious, Hyunnie. I'm sorry for the way I've treated you. I'm also sorry that we treated you blackened it with your boss. ", he said in a desperate voice and Hyunjin bought every word from him. He tried to find some clue in Felix's eyes as to whether he was fooling him. But he didn't find one. So the Australian was serious.

Hyunjin sighed softly and rubbed his face with his free hand, then nodded slightly. "Okay ... I believe you, I think.", The blonde finally said and smiled wryly. Felix looked at him satisfied and even returned his smile. "So, Hyunnie ... I want to know why you didn't get in touch with me. There was a time when I really needed you, and it hurt that you apparently no longer have me in your life Why? ", Felix finally began and seemed genuinely interested in knowing the reason. Hyunjin saw this as a chance to finally clear up all misunderstandings and was about to answer, but he couldn't do that.

"Baby, we're back!" Hyunjin hated that voice. Felix let go of him immediately and for a moment the little one's eyes begged for forgiveness, then a mean grin spread across his face. In the next moment Chris had put an arm around the little one's shoulders and kissed him on the lips. At that moment, Hyunjin felt the need to vomit. The sight was just too much for his poor stomach.

"Did you both found what you've searched?" He heard Felix ask at that moment and turned his attention back to the three men. He saw a grin spread across Chris's face before turning to Changbin. He looked briefly at Hyunjin and seemed disappointed and angry for some reason, then he handed the larger of the two something that looked like a piece of paper or something. Chris took it and showed it to Felix, whose face was slowly growing in horror. He shook his head and looked at Chris. "That goes to far, baby!" He said almost desperately and tried to snatch the ominous note from his hand. What the hell was going on?

Hyunjin tried desperately to see what it was and took a step towards the three of them. But then he did the math without Changbin. The man didn't look like anything, but he had a lot of strength. Hyunjin discovered this when Changbin grabbed him and held his upper arms from behind. "What so ...", the blonde wanted to burst out, but was greeted by an aggressive "Shut up your damn mouth!" interrupted.

Chris had probably talked to Felix during that time, because the smaller one didn't try to take this damn piece of paper away from him and just stood there and didn't say another word. Chris then turned to Hyunjin and grinned triumphantly as he held the piece of paper in front of his nose. The blond's eyes widened in horror. It wasn't just plain paper, it was the picture he kept in his desk drawer. "Where did you get that from?" He asked frantically and tried to free himself from Changbins grip. No chance.

"As I said ... your friend talks too much ..." Hyunjin looked at Felix, who had answered his question but wasn't looking at him. Hyunjin's gaze became desperate and tears formed in his eyes when he looked back at Chris. "Please ... give it back to me ..." he pleaded in a low voice. The Australian then looked at him with a mock compassionate face, then pulled something out of his trouser pocket. The blonde realized with horror that it was a lighter. But before he could react, Changbin had already pulled him away from Chris, who was turning on the lighter.

Tears ran down his cheeks as Hyunjin was still trying to tear himself away from Changbin, screaming his soul out.

"No! Please, please don't do that! Please!" But Chris showed no mercy. Hyunjin's screams stopped when the photo went up in flames. The last thing he had left of his friendship with Felix, the last memory of that vacation in Sydney, was destroyed. The blonde didn't notice Felix turning away with trembling shoulders and trembling fists. He no longer saw Changbin let go of him. He didn't notice how Chris turned to Felix and put his arm around his shoulders again, the smaller one pushed him away and disappeared.

Hyunjin sank to his knees and stared whimpering at the remains of the picture. It was just a photo ... a piece of his past. It hadn't meant anything to him.

You're a fucking liar Hwang Hyunjin ...

When Hyunjin arrived at the apartment block where he lived a short time later, his eyes were red and puffy, and his cheeks were burning. He sniffed softly as he pulled his key ring from his jacket pocket and opened the mailbox. Normally he didn't expect any mail, he just wanted to see if he'd received any more advertisements and dispose of them immediately. He was all the more surprised when he found a folded piece of paper.

Hyunjin wiped his eyes briefly with the back of his hand, ignoring the slight burning sensation and took the slip of paper to unfold it. With wide eyes he realized that it was a picture. It showed him and Felix as children, sitting on a bench and eating ice cream, grinning at the camera with smeared mouths and putting their free arms around each other's shoulders.

What the ... where does that come from ?!

Hyunjin hastily flipped the picture, hoping to find some clue to the previous owner. But all he found was a small sentence. Four words written in creepy Korean.

Please forgive me, Hyunnie

Tbc


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days were characterized by stress and a feeling of confusion. It started with the photo in Hyunjin's mailbox and the apology scrawled on it. The blonde wondered if Felix was playing any games with him or if he was really serious. And if he was serious, why didn't he come and talk to him? He had his address, and the blonde was more than willing to listen to him.

It went on with his broken apartment door and his apartment turned upside down. When Hyunjin saw the extent of this act of revenge - he was sure it was one - he wanted to cry again. His landlord would tear him to pieces and, in the worst case, fire him. Hyunjin could only hope that the man would let himself be spoken to, even if it meant that he would have to replace the door. This would tear a huge hole in his already meager savings, but it was still better than getting homeless in the middle of winter. Sure, Minho would take him in for a while, but that wasn't a permanent solution either. The blonde also preferred quiet and privacy, which he wouldn't have with his best friend. Minho just had too many friends, and most of the time his apartment was like a dovecote. As soon as one of the friends was gone, the next one rang the bell. This just wasn't his thing.

He hadn't seen Felix since that evening, and, to his delight, hadn't seen Chris either. But Hyunjin wanted answers, which is why he has spent most of the time in town, always hoping to see his former friend again. But in this case luck just wasn't on his side. The two Australians seemed to have been swallowed up by the earth.

Instead, he often saw Changbin, usually accompanied by a boy with dyed blue hair. Hyunjin had already tried to address the brown-haired man, but he stubbornly avoided him.

And now the blonde was sitting on his sofa and waiting for Jisung. After much deliberation, Hyunjin had come to the conclusion that his colleague was at least partly to blame for his current situation and that it would therefore only be fair if he paid at least part of the new door. He also wanted to make it clear to Jisung what he thought of his naivete and rash actions. Hyunjin sighed and checked his watch. The doorbell should ring soon if Jisung should be on time. Usually he was always on time and reliable, but you never know. His gaze fell on the framed picture, which now adorned his living room table. The blond took it in his hand and looked at it for a while. Only now did the young man notice the kink that seemed to share the photo. In addition, the edges were frayed. The picture seemed to have been picked up quite often. Hyunjin couldn't help but wonder whether Felix had managed to ruin the photo in his childhood, or whether it had happened over the years. Whether the Australian had just looked at it, whether he was holding onto their shared memories more than he claimed. Hyunjin sighed softly and put the picture back in its place. He just couldn't figure out this guy.

When the doorbell finally rang, Hyunjin slowly got up and trotted to the door to open it. A cheerful Jisung beamed at him and held a pack of fresh donuts under his nose. Hyunjin almost grinned at the sight. But only almost. "Come in," said the blonde simply and stepped aside to let his colleague in, then closed the makeshift door behind them. "Go into the living room, I'll make a coffee while.", He added and watched as Jisung put his shoes down in the hallway. "Sure!", Said the addressee and disappeared into the living room.

Hyunjin sighed softly and went into the kitchen to pour the already brewed coffee into two cups. "Two teaspoons of sugar and a dash of milk, right?" He asked in a louder voice to make sure Jisung heard him too. "Bingo, right!" Came the loud voice from the living room, too high a voice. Hyunjin had to smile a bit, took both cups with the ready-made hot drink and finally went to his friend.

"Here, your coffee." The blonde held the cup under Jisung's nose, who took it immediately. "Thanks, Hyunnie.", He grinned broadly and carefully tried a sip. Meanwhile, Hyunjin sat down next to the young man on the sofa and waited patiently until he had his attention again. He didn't have to wait long.

Jisung put his cup on the coffee table and then turned to him, placing one arm on the arm of the sofa. "Tell me, what actually happened to your door?" He finally asked, and Hyunjin sighed. "Chris happened to her. At least he and Changbin broke in here. How do I know? Because that damn Australian burned something that was pretty valuable to me right in front of my eyes.", The young man finally replied and was able to observe how himself Jisung's face spread absolute bewilderment. "WHAT did they do ?! What are those assholes, please!", he burst out from his skin and red anger spread across his cheeks. Hyunjin couldn't help but find this reaction quite funny. At least as far as Jisung's face was concerned. But he didn't show it and took a sip of his coffee. "I'm just wondering ...", the blonde began, interrupting his colleague's outburst of anger, "Where did they get my address from?" He slowly lowered the hand with the cup and looked Jisung straight in the eye. All the color has gone from his face on this question. "I ..... I thought you knew them ...", he stammered and ran his fingers through his hair. Hyunjin looked at him seriously and shook his head.

"You were also at the bar when they showed up. Don't you think I would have greeted her if I knew her? Or had I somehow made the impression that I was pleased to see her show up? Damn it, Jisung where did you leave your brain that evening ?! "

Hyunjin looked angrily at Jisung. He had turned away from the blonde again, propped his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"Chris said that they had stayed with you ... that you allowed it because you are good friends with this Felix ... He said that they want to fly back home soon, but something else with you forgot ... ", he finally said quietly, but the blonde had understood every word exactly.

"And let me guess, they supposedly couldn't remember my address.", Hyunjin concluded, whereupon Jisung nodded slightly.

"I know what you're going to say now, Hyunnie ... They could have asked you too. They could have waited until you had finished work. If I think about it now, it should have puzzled me ... I am so sorry, I didn't mean any of that. ", he sobbed and his shoulders began to shake.

At the sight, pity filled Hyunjin's heart. He had already guessed it. Jisung had been used as a means to an end, his good faith shamelessly exploited. And before the blonde could think about it any further, he had already moved up to Jisung and hugged him. He winced slightly and looked at him confused, his cheeks damp with isolated tears. Hyunjin gave him a crooked smile. "It's okay, really. Your good faith has been shamelessly exploited. I forgive you, but only on two conditions."

You could see Jisung prick up his ears. "I am listening!"

"First of all, if someone wants to know something about me, they should come to me. You don't say anything about me, okay?"

The human squirrel nodded vigorously. "Holy Indian word of honor! And the second condition?"

"Do me a favor and pay at least some of the cost of a new door. Please."

Jisung immediately agreed to that too. "Even if you say something else, it's my fault that these bastards broke into your house. So yes, I'll definitely support you financially. But tell me, don't you want to report these guys? I mean, this is not a minor offense . "

Hyunjin thought for a moment, but then shook his head. "No. You said yourself that they were going back to Australia, and I haven't seen them since that evening. That's why I just want to finish with the subject, Get a door before my landlord hears anything and then go back to my normal everyday life, you see? "

Jisung saw him, but then slowly nodded. "I think so. Somehow. But now let's have our coffee and eat the donuts that I bought especially! We have to get a door after all."

Tbc


	10. Chapter 10

Jisung kept his word and helped Hyunjin find a new door. He even paid more than they had actually agreed and helped the blonde swap the new door for the old one. Hyunjin was more than grateful to his colleague, after all, in the end, he had saved him from trouble with his landlord and also made sure that he did not have to gnaw on the hunger cloth for the rest of the month.

But installing the new door was exhausting, just like carrying the old door into the basement, so the young man was relieved when they could finally fall on his couch and take a breather. Jisung had tilted his head back and had to laugh slightly despite all the exhaustion. "It was pretty exhausting, but somehow it was also fun," he said finally, and Hyunjin agreed with him. He even had the feeling that their friendship had deepened in the past few hours. Otherwise it was only Minho that Hyunjin would do something with or go to when he needed someone to talk to. After today there was probably a second person who was just as suitable for this job. But Jisung would never be able to replace Minho, they were just too different for that. Besides, Jisung was sometimes - well, almost always - a bit too excited.

"You're right. Even if I would have liked to throw the door out of the window in a few moments.", The blonde replied and had to grin broadly. Jisung then looked at him and laughed. "I would have loved to see that. First of all, I doubt that you would have had the strength to even begin to drag this wooden monster into the living room, let alone lift it up and squeeze it through one of your much too small windows." At these words, the young man gave his colleague a crooked look. "I don't look like anything, but I'm not a weakling," he said piqued and crossed his arms over his chest. Much to Hyunjin's chagrin, Jisung seemed to have enjoyed teasing him.

He leaned over to him and poked his stomach lightly, "So a six-pack feels different ..." And before the blonde could answer anything, let alone react, the other man fumbled with his arm. "And the muscles seem to have said goodbye too. At least I can only find wobbly puddle ...... AAAAHHHHH HYUNJIN, STOP !!!!!" Jisung tried to turn away from Hyunjin, more screeching than laughing, but Hyunjin didn't even think of letting him escape. With a nasty grin on his lips, he mercilessly tickled his friend and even went so far that he sat on Jisung's lap just so that Jisung could not flee.

"HEY, THAT'S UNFAIR! GET OFF ME IMMEDIATELY, HWANG HYUNJIN!" Already bright red in the face, Jisung tried desperately to fend off the blond's hands, but he had no chance. Hyunjin was just too fast, and it wasn't until he began to gasp for air that he finally got an understanding.

Still laughing softly, Hyunjin leaned on Jisung's shoulder. He wasn't usually a fan of too much physical contact, but just now he just felt like it. Don't get it wrong now, Hyunjin found Jisung very cute and liked him a lot, but only on a friendly level. But he would never jump into bed with him or even start a relationship with him. First of all, they were far too similar in many ways, then there was the little problem with Jisung's hyperactivity, and besides, that idea felt wrong across the board.

That didn't stop the blonde from snuggling up to his friend and even closing his eyes. What he did made Jisung giggle softly and put his arms around Hyunjin. "Since when have you been in need of cuddling? Normally you hate something like the plague.", He said softly, and Hyunjin could almost hear him grin.

"Oh, shut up ..." he grumbled. Couldn't this squirrel just be quiet? He just destroyed a relatively intimate brotherly moment. It was nothing else for Hyunjin, even if it would have looked different to an outsider.

A few minutes later they clearly felt that this was the case.

"What is going on here?!" Minho's confused voice instantly split the two of them. Hyunjin had quickly resumed his place next to Jisung and looked at him, caught. The brunette eyed his friends wide and crossed his arms over his chest, then raised an eyebrow. "Do you have anything to say to me?", He finally asked and a slight grin crept onto his lips. Addressed people shook their heads almost synchronously. "No, for God's sake!", Hyunjin replied hastily and raised his hands defensively. "Then why are you sitting on Jisung's lap and even cuddling with him?" Why did the blonde feel like he was being cross-examined?

"That's because I annoyed Hyunnie and he had to tickle me out of revenge. He sat on my lap, probably so I wouldn't run away. So, and after that we just cuddled a bit. He's my gay -Bro, nothing more. ", Jisung threw in at the moment, sounding so serious that Minho sighed softly and nodded slightly." Okay, that sounds plausible. Hyunnie and I have cuddled and are just best friends. "he finally agreed. Hyunjin's heart fell from it. The last thing he needed now was that Minho thought the blonde had something wrong with Jisung.

In which....

"Tell me, how did you get in here?", Hyunjin finally asked confused. Minho scratched his head as a result. "Well, I wanted to visit you on the spur of the moment. When I got here, I saw your apartment door open and I was worried." He was really lucky to have such good friends. And he made up his mind to make sure to close the door properly next time.

Tbc


	11. Chapter 11

When he finally got back to work, Hyunjin could have wept with joy. Enthusiastically he slipped into gray jeans and a dark blue shirt, the top buttons of which he left open as always. He had already lubricated his sandwiches yesterday and kept them in a Tupperware box in the refrigerator, so he didn't have to worry about that anymore. Today he wore his hair down for once, if only because he knew from Minho and Jisung that he looked even better this way than with a ponytail.

Humming happily to himself, he went into the kitchen to get his sandwiches and put them in his pocket, then pulled on his jacket and shoes and left the apartment. Since the incident with Chris and Changbin, he had gotten into the habit of locking the front door twice. It was a lot harder to kick in the door.

When the blonde stepped out onto the street, a flood of snowflakes blew into his face. He narrowed his eyes reflexively and shook himself slightly. For a few days it has been snowing almost non-stop, which significantly increased hope for a white Christmas. Hyunjin didn't mind snow either, on the contrary, he loved the white splendor. But only when he was warm and didn't have to walk through brownish slush. No matter how good winter shoes he could wear, in the end his socks were always wet and his feet felt cold and numb.

Hyunjin slowly opened his eyes again and ran his fingers through his blond hair to at least organize it a bit. If he had made a ponytail after all. But now he didn't have time to go back either, and besides, he had no intention of letting such nonsense spoil his good mood.

Sliding rather than walking, he continued on his way to his work place, always careful not to slip and fall. Around him, people literally stormed the shops to buy Christmas presents or to prepare for the coming festive season. Hyunjin smiled slightly and was once again happy that he had always bought gifts for his parents and friends in November to avoid the hustle and bustle. In any case, he did not understand why people tended to fall into a panic-like state, especially in the run-up to Christmas. So much for peace and quiet ...

When he could finally close the door of the club behind him, Hyunjin was immediately surrounded by a pleasant warmth. He sighed softly and, rubbing his icy hands, went behind the counter to get rid of his wet jacket and bag and put on an apron. He hadn't seen Minho or Jisung when he arrived, and would have preferred to speak to one of them before the start of his shift. The blonde hadn't been on duty for a week and wanted to know if there was anything new. Although, they would certainly have told him yesterday, after all, they had still been to visit him. Well, Mr Im would come up to him if there was something he should know.

Hyunjin was serving a blue-haired young man when they were joined by someone. The blonde looked up from what he was doing, only to see Changbin's face. But he had apparently not noticed him yet - or he ignored him, Hyunjin wasn't sure about that - because he first devoted himself to the blue-haired boy. A gentle smile appeared on the black-haired man's face and he leaned forward to kiss the stranger on the mouth. "Have you been waiting for a long time, sweetheart?" He finally asked and let himself fall on the bar stool next to what appeared to be his partner. He shook his head slightly and beamed at Changbin like a honey cake horse. "No, I only came about ten minutes ago myself. Riding a motorcycle in this weather is hell," he explained and then pointed to the blond bartender behind him. "First he bought me a free drink.", The blue-haired man finally said enthusiastically, and Hyunjin would have liked to sink into the ground. He was sorry for the guy, so he bought him a warm sake to warm up. But now he remembered where he looked so familiar from. That was the boy he had seen Changbin with several times in the city.

Speaking of Changbin, he had now turned his attention to the blonde and forced a friendly smile. Hyunjin could have sworn that the black-haired man was rather uncomfortable sitting across from him now. Changbin looked like he wanted to run out of the club again. No wonder, considering what he and Chris had done.

But Hyunjin would be above it. He would show nothing and be what was asked of him. A friendly, serious bartender. So he returned the smile with all the honesty he could muster. "Good evening, sir. What good can I do for you?" He asked and waited patiently for the young man's answer. This sighed silently. "Warm sake too, if it's okay," he said finally, and Hyunjin nodded. "Come immediately."

With these words, he immediately got to work, but could clearly feel Changbin's gaze on the back of his neck. But the feeling only lasted a few seconds, then he could hear the couple engrossed in a conversation. He also heard that the blue-haired young man was named Jeongin. After a short time he apologized that he had to go to the toilet and seemed to have disappeared very quickly.

"Are you feeling better, Hyunjin?", The blonde heard Changbin suddenly ask. Was that supposed to be a stupid joke? Pulling himself together with all his might, Hyunjin poured the warm sake into a glass and placed it on the counter in front of Changbin, then looked directly at him.

The black-haired man returned the look guiltily, but whether he was sorry or not, Hyunjin didn't really care at the moment. "What exactly do you mean? My nose? Or the fact that I was allowed to buy a new apartment door so I wouldn't get into trouble with my landlord? Maybe the thing that my boss put me on vacation for a week because I allegedly wanting to sell our guests some disgusting drink? Or that I watch the people here in a very stalker-like manner? Or that you have taken something incredibly important from me and destroyed it? Well, to calm you down, I'm fine. My nose is still on in the right place, the new door is even more robust than its decrepit predecessor and I am officially allowed to work again. " As he spoke, Hyunjin had propped himself up with his hands on the counter and did not take his eyes off the young man in front of him for a second. With every word he sank more and more in himself and lowered his eyes ashamed. "May I explain myself? Please?", He finally asked quietly and Hyunjin was about to answer with an indignant 'No, save your fucking excuses' , but didn't get to that because Jeongin reappeared at that moment. The blue-haired man also seemed to suspect that something was wrong, because he suspiciously let his gaze wander between the two men. "Has anything happened?" He finally asked, whereupon Hyunjin shook his head. "All right, I just noticed that I am standing across from a childhood friend whom I haven't seen for years, and I wanted to spontaneously invite you both to my home tomorrow."

Jeongin seemed quite confident in his friend. Or maybe it was just naivety that Hyunjin couldn't judge. The blue-haired man put on a smile again, this time it seemed relieved: "Okay, then I'm reassured. I thought something might have happened." He looked at Changbin and his smile widened even more. "I would like to get to know your boyfriend better, Binnie. I only know Chris and Lixie so far, but since they came back to Australia it has become totally boring." He put on a slight pout.

Hyunjin looked back at Changbin, who sighed in resignation and grinned crookedly. "Why not, we have nothing to do anyway," he finally replied, whereupon Jeongin hopped onto his lap, beaming with joy, and almost smooched on the counter. Literally.

However, this gave Hyunjin time to ponder the blue-haired man's words. So you were back in Australia? No wonder he hadn't seen her again. But why did this knowledge suddenly hurt so much?

Tbc


	12. Chapter 12

The next day came faster than Hyunjin would have liked. Yes, he asked for this visit. Yes, he wanted answers, and it seemed that Changbin could give him many. But now that the time had come, the blonde didn't know where to begin. Changbin and Jeongin were sitting on the couch in his living room, still shivering slightly from the freezing cold on the streets, holding cups of warm tea in their hands. Hyunjin himself sat on the armchair directly across from them and only listened with half an ear to Jeongin, who was chatting from the sewing box with a big smile. He wasn't really interested in how the two met or how Changbin had confessed his love to the blue-haired man. And even if Jeongin seemed like a nice guy, Hyunjin regretted inviting them both. He would have preferred to be able to talk to Changbin undisturbed. Even if the black-haired man screwed up a lot, Hyunjin didn't want his friend to know about it and then there might be an argument between the two young men.

The blonde almost grinned at the thought. How long had he gotten so social? And that especially to people who had shown him hell on earth? He didn't know the answer to that. Or maybe it was just because of the Christmas season and the people preaching about mercy and charity. Maybe he had let himself be lulled too much by these words. Whatever it was, maybe it would help him finally understand the reasons for Felix's strange behavior and learn why Changbin, and especially Chris, were so intent on hurting him, no matter what.

When a cell phone suddenly started ringing, Hyunjin winced violently and looked at his guests with wide eyes. Jeongin went red cheeks as he rummaged in his pocket for the cell phone. "This is mine, sorry," he muttered and took the call. Hyunjin was still trying to calm his racing heart and only got the edge of how the blue-haired man seemed to be talking to his mother. Fate finally seemed to like him, because a short time later Jeongin ended the conversation and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I totally forgot that I was supposed to help my mum decorate her house," he finally explained and looked at Changbin, who has turned strangely pale. "I'm really sorry, sweetheart." Jeongin added again, whereupon the black-haired man finally forced a smile. "It's okay, baby. But it stays tonight, isn't it?", Changbin asked and the blue-haired nodded quickly. "Yes, of course! And as I know my mother, she will give me home-baked cookies for her future son-in-law." This statement made the couple laugh softly, and Hyunjin caught the corners of his mouth lifting too. The two were really a lovely couple. He skilfully ignored the creeping feeling of envy that gnawed at him. He never let the two lovebirds out of his sight on the sofa. Jeongin kissed his friend gently on the lips as he parted. "See you tonight," he said with a smile and put his now empty cup on the table, then looked at Hyunjin. "Thanks for the invitation and tea." He bowed politely and disappeared into the hallway. The blonde followed him and closed the door behind the blue-haired man after reassuring him that he was a really pleasant guest.

Hyunjin sighed and waited a few more seconds, then went back into the living room and sat down in his chair again. Changbin watched him every step of the way, as if he was expecting a surprise attack or something similar. Hyunjin returned his gaze, then leaned back. "So, Changbin, I think now we can talk openly and honestly with each other.", The blonde finally began, whereupon the other person sighed. "Why didn't you start when my friend was still here? You would have had the opportunity to take revenge on me. Jeongin would break up with me immediately if he knew." "It's true, that would have been an opportunity to get you back. I don't know why I didn't do that. Maybe I just felt sorry for Jeongin. He's a nice guy and I wouldn't want to ruin his Christmas party, you know?"

Changbin looked at him, then bowed his head. He seemed to be wondering what to say, but in the end was content with drinking some of his tea. When Hyunjin noticed that the young man had nothing to say, he continued: "You wanted to talk to me. That fits well, because as I said, I have a lot of questions. What interests me first ... than you and I got to know each other, didn't you appear to dislike me. What happened, please, that you took part in all this shit? "

"Chris had told me a few things about Felix and you. He said it was your fault that Felix was very, very badly off for a long time. And since Felix is my best friend and is very important to me, I'm angry and I let myself be carried away by Chris. "

Hyunjin sighed at the answer. He's been doing that a lot lately. Sigh. It was almost becoming a bad habit.

"Okay, I should have guessed ... Chris has already told me that I am to blame for something that has to do with Felix. The only problem is that I don't know what I did to him We met ten years ago when I was on vacation with my parents in Sydney. We became friends, but after two weeks we had to leave. We Felix and I promised each other that we would stay in touch, but somehow nothing came of it. " Changbin seemed to be particularly interested in this subject, he had listened carefully to the blonde and then blinked in amazement. "You really don't know anything about what happened?" Asked the black-haired man, and Hyunjin raised an eyebrow. Apparently, there was more to Chris's allegations than he'd thought, and concern was creeping into him. "What happened? What, Changbin?", Hyunjin asked almost in panic, leaning forward while digging his fingers into the armrests of the chair. Addressed then looked at him regretfully and shook her head slightly. "Felix has to tell you that himself, I'm sorry.", He replied and looked at him almost sadly. Hyunjin nodded slightly and pressed his lips together for a moment. "And when can I talk to him again? He and Chris flew back to Australia if I understood Jeongin correctly yesterday.", The blonde replied almost desperately.

Changbin looked at him for a long time and drank the rest of his tea, then said: "You will be back soon. We are setting up a flat share, the two of us, Jeongin and me. And after the last half hour I have the feeling that you and Lixie should definitely talk to each other. " Hyunjin definitely agreed. But how should he do that?

While he was still thinking about it, Changbin discovered the picture on the table. He had taken it and was looking at it. "Lixie still means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Asked the black-haired man and pulled Hyunjin out of his thoughts. The blond sighed again and gave a slight shrug. "Even if I do, what's the point? He's got his pit bull. And believe me, he'll bite." That made Changbin laugh. "That's right, Chris can get bad when it comes to Felix. But basically he's a really nice guy who just wants to see Lixie happy, you know? He even knows that ... Oh, it doesn't matter . You will probably have to find out for yourself, I don't want to give too much away. But I'll let you know when they're back. And we want to have a housewarming party too. So don't be surprised if you suddenly find an invitation in your mailbox have, yes? " Changbin winked, "You are also welcome to bring your friends. But come on anyway."

Hyunjin was stunned. With the best will in the world, he hadn't expected so much willingness to help. "Why do you want to help me all of a sudden?" "Because I have a lot to do well. And I think that's a good start."

Tbc


	13. Chapter 13

"You did what ?!" Jisung and Minho stared at Hyunjin in disbelief, but Jisung was responsible for the question. They had met at Minho's home, which the blonde was very happy about. He had already had the feeling that he was no longer living in an apartment but in a dovecote. That it was partly his own fault he let slip under the table unnoticed. "I talked to Changbin. The conversation was also very insightful, if I may put it that way," Hyunjin replied with a shrug and sipped his hot chocolate. He could see Jisung and Minho looking at each other. He also understood that they were concerned. It wouldn't be any different in her situation.

"And you are really sure that he is serious? I wouldn't trust this guy anymore, after everything that happened.", Minho finally interjected and looked directly at him again. The blonde nodded slightly. "I know what you mean, Min. But believe me, he won't dare kid me or anything like that.", Hyunjin finally replied, whereupon Jisung raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you so sure about that? I think more that you can trust that pretty much anything bad." At these words, a mean grin spread across Hyunjin's face. "It's simple. The good guy has a lover he really fucking loves. And he'd break up with him immediately if he found out about all the shit his guy screwed up. I have Changbin in my hand because if he doesn't wants me to tell his sweetie the whole truth, he'll have to keep his word. ", the blonde finally explained and took another sip from his cup. Minho blinked and then leaned over to Hyunjin. "Who are you and what have you done to my drama queen-making best friend?" He asked with mock amazement, which got him a blow on the shoulder.

"Idiot, I'm still the same, but if I've learned anything in the past few weeks, it's to grab every opportunity that can bring me to my goal. I can't not always pity myself, me." gotta get my ass up and find out what happened to Felix and why I'm being blamed for it. " Jisung watched him the whole time he spoke. When Hyunjin finally finished, he shook his head slightly, "Hyunnie, I don't want to offend you, but ... It doesn't sound like a casual childhood acquaintance anymore. You're so fixated on this guy that nobody does that The whole thing doesn't matter. You want to find out what happened in the last few years. You want to wipe him clean so you don't end up being a bastard. You really want to re-establish contact, and let's be honest, we all know you You haven't just invented social behavior. So, Hyunjin, what's that between you and him? Or rather, what is this guy for you? And now don't start again with your 'fleeting vacation friendship', I won't buy that crap for you anymore from."

Hyunjin stared at Jisung with open mouth. Since when was he so serious, if you please? And since when did he go under the people watchers? It took the blonde a few seconds to recover, then he shook his head slightly: "What else should Felix be for me? We were still children when we met and ..."

This time it was Minho who interrupted Hyunjin. "I have to agree with Jisung, Hyunnie. I also noticed that your behavior changes completely as soon as it comes to this Felix. Either you are totally depressed then or you make a hobby detective. I am not saying that it is pathological, but it's about to. "" Are you saying that I'm mutating into a psycho ?! ", the blonde roared, whereupon Minho raised his hands defensively and shook his head.

"No, as I said, you're still quite a long way from that. Maybe I just expressed myself incorrectly ...", the brunette thought for a moment and then nodded vigorously, "Yep, it fits better that way! You react more strongly him than Sungie or me. Your whole world revolves around Felix. Felix here and Felix there as if there was nothing else. As if he were the most important thing in the world. Do you understand what I mean? " Hyunjin shook his head in disbelief, "Are you abandoned by all good spirits ?! I'm not ..." "In love with him? Yes, that's exactly how Min and I see it. You have a pretty interesting way of doing that show, but yes, the little one really managed to soften your ice-cold heart, my friend. " Jisung raised the corner of his mouth in a crooked grin. And he had interrupted him. Hyunjin guessed that it was a new hobby of his friends.

But was he really in love with Felix? When was that supposed to have happened? "You're spinning something together. When exactly should that have happened? Since I've seen him again, there has been nothing but trouble." Hyunjin leaned back and crossed his arms in denial, a typical defense reaction on his part. He didn't like the direction this conversation had gone at all. Still, he was amused to watch his two colleagues slap their hands against their foreheads in sync.

"You already know that you can fall in love when you are ten, don't you?" Minho finally asked carefully. And the blonde suddenly felt the urgent need to hit his best friend with a pan of the kind 'particularly heavy and painful' on the head. Did the two of them eat too many Christmas cookies? Or was there something in the hot chocolate? Hyunjin opted for the former, after all, he had also drunk hot chocolate and suffered no tinge of sudden madness.

"Minho, we were still children. CHILDREN! At that time we had absolutely no idea about such things.", The blonde defended this assertion firmly and shook his head with a disapproving look.

His friends then gave up, they had probably understood that this did not get any further with Hyunjin. But that was the biggest nonsense he had ever heard.

Maybe it's you who's talking nonsense here. See it, they're both right.

Boy, if he hated someone even more than his two colleagues, who were now constantly watching him as if they were waiting for something to confirm their suspicions; then it was his inner voice that always had to interfere when he least needed it. But the worst part of the whole thing was feeling that what they were saying was true.

Tbc


	14. Chapter 14

The pre-Christmas season and also the Christmas season passed like in the flight, and Hyunjin had heard nothing more from Changbin. He checked his mailbox every day, disposed of the advertisements, and before the holidays he had also received Christmas cards from his parents and other family members. But there was never a letter or an invitation to a party. And so slowly crept the blonde the feeling that Changbin had taken him on the arm. When he talked to Minho about it, he just sighed and said that Hyunjin should be more patient. The brunette still didn't believe that Changbin really meant business, but he was also a rational person, and Hyunjin appreciated that character trait very much.

"Hyunnie, first of all there were holidays and besides, a move like this from Australia to Korea cannot be accomplished in such a short time. You have to re-register, you need different papers, you have to see that the old apartment is given notice and vacated , and and and. It could also be that they still have to look for a new tenant, that would drag the whole thing out even more. I mean, I am still of the opinion that this Changbin cannot be trusted, but you have firmly believed in his honesty. Wait a while, maybe something will come after all. "

Those were Minho's words, and the normal-thinking person in Hyunjin knew he was right. Patience was best in this case, but the blonde had never been particularly patient. And so the disappointment and resignation grew with each passing day whenever he looked in the mailbox and received no message from Changbin. It was really maddening. Finally, shortly after the New Year, Hyunjin gave up hope. He didn't even look in his mailbox anymore, he just walked past it without even looking at him. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe this was just a sign to let go and forget for good. But Hyunjin couldn't. Sometimes he even found himself watching the postman from his window, hoping the man would drop an envelope along with the usual advertising. But nothing of the sort happened, and the blonde stopped doing it, too. At some point the postman would find out that he was being watched, and then it would be embarrassing.

One evening, it was now the end of January and one of Hyunjin's few days off, the blonde was sitting on his couch, cuddled up in his bedspread, standing on the table with an XXL pack of chocolate ice cream in front of him, and watched some punk on TV with disinterest. He had already forgotten the title after the first five minutes, but he had no intention of doing this kitsch overloaded with clichés again. However, that didn't stop Hyunjin from dragging individual film scenes through the cocoa and making some witty comments on them.

"Even when we were children, I knew that we belong together blablabla ...", he mimicked the female lead in an exaggeratedly high-pitched voice and rolled his eyes. As if something like that was possible. And this over-drama shortly afterwards was even more stupid. "Live my life, then you will know what drama is.", Mumbled the blonde, while he grabbed the ice pack. He didn't care if it looked like he was eating out of frustration - which was even the truth, but he would do a devil and admit it - and he really didn't care if it looked like he had Lovesickness. At least he fulfilled almost all the clichés for this, only that he didn't howl his eyes out of his head and his imaginary make-up ran off.

Hyunjin was about to put a heaped tablespoon of chocolate ice cream in his mouth when the doorbell suddenly rang. The blonde had not expected any more visitors today and was so frightened that the ice cream fell from his spoon directly onto his t-shirt. Cursing, he put the ice cream and spoon back on the table and jumped up. Who wanted something from him now? Roughly moving the ice from his top at a slow pace, Hyunjin stomped grumbling to the door and opened it.

Big-eyed, he stared at Changbin, who looked a bit surprised. But then the black-haired man raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "Hyunjin, can you explain to me where you are?" The young man finally asked and the person he was speaking to was so confused that he just said an intelligent 'Huh? could give away. "The party? I sent you an invitation last week. Didn't you get it?"

Hyunjin looked down, ashamed. A light seemed to dawn on Changbin. "You didn't even look in the mailbox. I should have thought right away, the part is overflowing with advertisements." The blonde looked guiltily at his counterpart and sagged his shoulders.

The black-haired man eyed him and then tilted his head slightly, "Would you like to talk to Felix?" What a stupid question! "Of course I want that!", Hyunjin replied hastily, whereupon Changbin nodded slightly. "Good. But for that you have to change and style yourself first. Your messy hair looks pretty cute, but the big brown stain on your shirt is a bit irritating." He grinned and pointed at Hyunjin's chest. The blonde looked down at himself and got red cheeks. How embarrassing, he looked like a drooling baby! "Um, excuse me for a moment." He left the door a crack to give Changbin the choice of whether to wait for him in the apartment or whether to stand in front of the door wanted to stay and disappeared into his bedroom. Before doing this, he switched off the television and stowed the ice in the freezer.

And now the blonde was standing in front of his closet and didn't know what to wear. While he eyed his clothes critically, he could hear someone come in and the door was closed. Apparently it had become too uncomfortable for Changbin in the hallway. "I hope it is not a problem for you if I wait for you in the living room.", Came the voice of the black-haired man. Hyunjin had to smile slightly. "No, everything's fine, you know the way.", Answered the blond boy and then went back to his clothes problem. What to wear to a housewarming party?

He sighed silently. "Changbin? I need your help!" He finally shouted. He usually didn't ask anyone for help with his clothes, but in this case he felt he really needed them. "Sure, wait!" Hyunjin heard steps approaching and in the next moment the black-haired man was standing in the door frame. "What's up?" He wanted to know, but seemed to understand when he saw Hyunjin desperately rummaging through his clothes. "You just remind me of Felix. He never knows what to wear on certain occasions.", The black-haired laughed softly and stepped to Hyunjin's side. "Come on, I'll help you." With these words he took a pair of pants from the blonde's hand, glanced at them and shook his head, then rummaged through Hyunjin's things.

It wasn't long before Changbin grinned in satisfaction. "You have a good taste in fashion. It wasn't difficult to find something suitable." With these words he pressed black, tight-fitting trousers, a white half-sleeved shirt with a collar and a black vest into Hyunjin's hands. The young man looked at the things and then gave Changbin an uncertain look. He nodded to him and finally Hyunjin disappeared into the bathroom.

After he showered and changed, Hyunjin stood in front of his mirror. He couldn't pretend to be calm itself. On the contrary, he was incredibly nervous. Would everything go as he and Changbin planned? How would Felix react to him? And most importantly, would they be able to talk to each other undisturbed, clearing up all misunderstandings, clearing up all problems? The blonde hoped so very much. He didn't even imagine any chances with the Australian, but he would have absolutely no problem with them being friends.

Hyunjin took a deep breath and styled his hair by combing the bangs back and tying them into a ponytail. He left the rest of the hair open.

When he finally went to Changbin's living room, the black-haired man looked at him and whistled approvingly. "Wow, honestly? If I didn't have Jeongin, I would try to get you around. You look really great." The blonde laughed lightly and shook his head. "Thanks for the compliment, but you're not my type, sorry." Changbin grinned and handed him his jacket. "I know, and even if I did, I'd rather turn you off. Remember, this bastard here is happily taken." "I know, and it should stay that way." The two laughed, then Hyunjin put on the jacket and shoes he had been given, grabbed his keys, and together they left the apartment.

Once outside, Hyunjin took a quick look at his mailbox and was ashamed to find that it was just so crowded with advertisements. Great, new item on his list of embarrassments. And that list was long, to his chagrin. "Hey, are you coming?" Changbin's voice tore him from his thoughts. He hadn't noticed that he had stopped. The black-haired man was already standing at his car and waiting for him, so the blonde is also hurrying up. Changbin had already done more for him today than he deserved, so he didn't want to keep him waiting unnecessarily.

Tbc


	15. Chapter 15

The drive from Hyunjin's to Changbin's apartment turned out to be longer than the blonde had expected. And it tore at his nerves. The nervousness was growing minute by minute, and he had caught himself a couple of times toying with the idea of just jumping out of the car at the next red light and running away. But in the end he didn't.

"Tell me, how did you actually teach them that I come to your party too?", Hyunjin finally asked. He didn't think Felix, and especially Chris, would be enthusiastic about it. Changbin put on a cheeky grin. "I didn't tell them. I just told them that I still had something to do and that I would be back later. But it wasn't planned that I still had to advise you on your choice of clothes." At the last words, Hyunjin ducked his head slightly. "I'm sorry ..." he muttered and looked straight ahead again. The black-haired man laughed lightly. "Doesn't have to. As I said, Lixie is just like you. Stands for hours in front of his closet and finally needs help. So you see, I'm used to it. And now I have to endure it almost every day. I swear if I think of him." Would ask for money for it, I'd be a millionaire by now. " Hyunjin laughed at this.

"Oh dear, that sounds like you have a full-time job now." "Yep, and unpaid too. Aren't I lucky?" Changbin laughed lightly and then glanced briefly at the man next to him. "Seriously, Hyunjin, you are really cool. I know our start was pretty shitty, but maybe we can still be something like friends." The blonde then looked at Changbin in surprise. He would have expected everything, but not something like that. Especially after what happened. And there was another rake, "Do you think Chris would be fine with that?" "Do you know how I don't give a shit about his opinion? After that happened to your picture - which I still damn sorry, by the way - I don't give a damn about it. And there's one more thing I can tell you. Lixie was after the matter too Damn angry with Chris. When we were back with me, there was a huge argument between the two of them. It even degenerated to the point that Felix gave him a clap. So he doesn't care that much. "

Hyunjin then stared at Changbin with wide eyes. Felix had had a serious argument with Chris, and was it because of him? He just couldn't decide whether to be happy about it or not. Of course it was nice that Felix stood up for him, but that will definitely have fueled Chris's hatred of him even more.

Changbin seemed to be able to read minds. "Don't worry about Chris. He won't touch you anymore let alone tell shit about you.", Continued the black-haired man and gave him an encouraging smile. "Okay, I'll trust you. And about the thing about becoming friends ... We'll see what the future holds. I don't think it's out of place, anyway." Changbin nodded briefly, which Hyunjin took as approval. They were silent for the rest of the journey, but it was a pleasant silence.

After a while, they finally came to a driveway where Changbin turned and finally stopped the car. "So, we're here. Are you ready?" Hyunjin nodded tentatively, but didn't say a word. He couldn't say whether he was really ready to face Felix. But he sincerely hoped it would. At least the nod seemed to be enough for Changbin's answer. They got out and the black-haired man locked his car, then led the blonde into the huge new building.

They used the elevator, but that was fine with Hyunjin. He wouldn't have wanted to walk up to the 20th floor. Finally the elevator stopped, and when they stepped into the corridor the blond could already hear laughter and music. Changbin sighed. "So much for the subject, they won't be loud." Hyunjin had to grin at that. "Somehow reminds me of the Minho parties," he replied, and the black-haired man thought for a moment. "The brunette waiter, right?" Hyunjin nodded in confirmation. "Exactly, and my best friend to boot." Changbin smiled slightly and said, "I've already noticed. He takes care of you like a shooting dog. But come on now, we're running late anyway." The black-haired man grabbed Hyunjin's wrist and pulled him with him without warning, which almost caused the blonde to fall over his own legs. Fortunately, that hadn't happened.

When they finally stopped at a door, Changbin unlocked it and gently pushed Hyunjin into the apartment. The volume of the system was so loud that the blonde had the feeling that his ears were about to get legs and run away in panic. It was only incidentally that he noticed that Changbin had closed the door behind them. "Shoes next to the door and jacket to the cloakroom, then come into the living room. In the meantime I'll turn the necks of these three idiots. Okay, don't Jeongin, he'll get his fat off later." With these words, Changbin disappeared into what Hyunjin assumed was a living room. While he was doing what the black-haired man asked him to do, Hyunjin overheard the music turning down and Changbin giving his roommates a lecture.  
The blonde had to grin a little when he heard Jeongin apologize to his lover in a hunched voice. The grin was wiped from his face again when he heard Chris' voice. It was strange to hear him speak Korean, it was quite broken and you could hear the Australian accent heavily. Changbin spoke briefly to the Australian, then a much darker voice could be heard. Hyunjin's heart was in his throat. He would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Where have you been for so long, Binnie?" He heard Felix ask, and Changbin's answer was, "I had something to do. Or, I had to pick up a friend." Hyunjin, who was now almost in front of the living room door, winced slightly when Changbin's face suddenly appeared before him. "You are really a lame march, do you know that? Come on now!" And before the blonde could react in any way, Changbin had grabbed his wrist again and pulled him into the living room.

And now Hyunjin was facing three pairs of eyes that stared at him in amazement. He almost felt like a rabbit that was targeted by three wolves. The blonde put on a forced smile and raised a hand in greeting. "Uh Hi?" He stammered more or less. Jeongin was the first to respond. A bright smile appeared on his cute face, he came up to Hyunjin and hugged him. "Hey dude, nice that you came.", He said and gave him a quick hug. The blonde returned the hug with a light laugh. He felt comfortable and welcome with the younger one.

Chris, on the other hand, was not so friendly. Hyunjin saw the Australian jump up. "Binnie, what is he doing here ?!" The blonde couldn't see how the person he was speaking to reacted because his back was to him. But he could hear his voice. "Hyunnie has become a good friend of Jeongin and me in the last few weeks, so I invited him. If you don't like it, you're welcome to piss off in your room." Oh, that's how Hyunjin loved the black-haired man. Always direct and blunt. Chris still looked at him angrily, but said nothing more and slumped back into his chair. But he didn’t let the blond out of his sight.

Hyunjin's gaze then wandered to Felix. The little Australian stared at him with big eyes and open mouth as if he were the eighth wonder of the world. Somehow he was embarrassed by the look. At that moment he felt a warm hand on his shoulder and looked at Changbin, who gave him a warm smile, then he looked at the two Australians. "Come on, he's a really nice guy. And he looks damn good, doesn't he?" Chris growled softly, crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head away. This reaction reminded Hyunjin of a defiant kindergarten child who hadn't got his way. Felix, on the other hand, looked the blond from head to toe, then slowly nodded. He looked Hyunjin straight in the eye and said, "Yeah, he looks really damn good. Nice to eat."

Hyunjin then got glowing cheeks, Chris looked at Felix in disbelief, Changbin grinned broadly and Jeongin giggled. It was also the blue-haired man who grabbed Hyunjin's hands. "What are we still standing around here? Sit down with us!" And to Hyunjin's surprise, the evening turned out to be really pleasant. Changbin and Jeongin included him in all activities and talked to him most of the time, even Felix exchanged a few words with the blonde here and there. Only Chris stared at him the whole time with a look that would have scared even Sauron and Voldemort. However, Hyunjin skilfully ignored the Australian, he didn't want to let his good mood spoil.

Finally, Jeongin came up with an idea. "Hyunnie, you are so good at mixing cocktails. Can you make some for us?" He asked, smiling so sweetly at him that he couldn't say no. He sighed silently and nodded. "If the others don't mind, that's fine." Changbin shook his head. "So I would be happy." Felix smiled slightly. "Sure, but nothing with coconut please. I hate that stuff." Ah, that's why he didn't like the drink back then. If Hyunjin had known that earlier. But Changbin also looked perplexed at the Australian. "I didn't know that yet. Why don't you tell something like that, Lixie?" "I hadn't noticed that you had already ordered, Binnie. So I didn't have a chance." It was amusing to watch the two of them stare at each other for a few seconds, then Changbin scratched his head in embarrassment. "Okay, I was really a little hasty." "You are often." The black-haired then looked at his friend and pulled an offended curse. "Do I really have to take this, baby?" Jeongin's grin was bad news, and his answer confirmed Hyunjin's suspicion. "Where Lixie is right, he's right." Changbin then looked at him pretended to be stunned, and the next moment four of the five present burst out laughing.

When they had calmed down again, Felix looked at Chris. "And what cocktail do you want honey?" The bigger one then looked at him annoyed. "I don't drink this poison mixer." Hyunjin was about to flare up, but Changbin's hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned his gaze to the black-haired man and noticed that he was shaking his head. Changbin was right, he shouldn't allow himself to be provoked if he wanted to talk to Felix today.

Instead, Hyunjin let Changbin lead him into the kitchen. The blonde was pleasantly surprised. The room was quite big and spacious, they even managed to build something like a little bar in one corner. It almost reminded him of the club he worked at, except that it wasn't that crowded and stuffy.

"You like it, am I right?" The blonde looked at Changbin, who was grinning knowingly at him, and nodded with an enthusiastic smile. "Yes, it reminds me of my job." "You're the first I meet who loves your job so much." "I rather guess that this is not my job, but my calling." Changbin nodded in agreement, then pointed to her private bar. "Well then, let off steam, sir."

Hyunjin laughed lightly, then disappeared behind the dresser that had been converted into a bar. There was even an apron. As he wrapped it around himself, he could see out of the corner of his eye how his hosts sat down. Even Chris was there, but Hyunjin knew it wasn't because he wanted a cocktail, but to make sure that the blonde didn't get too close to Felix. Hyunjin was really excited to see how Changbin would do it so that he could talk to the smaller Australian in peace.

But he shouldn't care now. The blonde looked at the four young men with a smile. "Do you have any special requests?" He asked, and to his surprise it was Felix who answered. "Surprise us, Mr. Barkeeper.", He said in his typically dark voice and grinned. But this time it wasn't a mean or superior grin. Hyunjin just couldn't put it into an appropriate category. "As the gentlemen wish," he replied cheerfully and went to work. The blonde already knew exactly who he was going to prepare which drink, and he had something very special in mind for Felix.

After a short time, he finished the first two cocktails and pushed them to Changbin and Jeongin. "Once a tequila sunrise for Jeongin and a caipirinha for Changbin." The two men smiled and took their glasses, although Changbin had it a little more difficult because Jeongin was sitting on his lap.

"Wow, delicious!", Jeongin exclaimed enthusiastically and Changbin nodded in agreement. "Mine too. First class." "I'm glad that you like them.", Hyunjin replied with a happy smile while he prepared the cocktail for Felix. It was a little tricky, and he just hoped his efforts weren't in vain. Finally he could pour the orange liquid into one of the cocktail glasses and slide it over to Felix. "A mangoonai for Felix," he said with a tentative smile. Addressed then looked at him perplexed and Chris seemed to be choking on his own spit.

"You are seriously trying to convince us that you've tried an Australian cocktail, Blondie?" Chris finally asked, aghast, and Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "I have a name too, just imagine. And yes, I have. Do you have any problem with that?" Replied the blonde, annoyed. Why couldn't this guy just shut up? Chris then raised an eyebrow and then grinned provocatively. "I know you screwed up anyway. Hardly anyone who does not come from Australia can make our cocktails. And outside ...." "Wow, first class!"

Both men looked at Felix, who was holding his glass and licking his lips. He must have just tried the cocktail. "It literally tastes of sun, sea and the beauty of Australia." Felix looked at Hyunjin in amazement. "How did you do that? Chris was right when he said that hardly anyone can make the Australian cocktails."

What should Hyunjin answer to that? The truth would have been anything but helpful in that case. He could hardly say that while mixing the cocktail he had thought of Felix's laugh, of his eyes, of the freckles on his cheeks. But once again it was Changbin who came to his aid, because before Hyunjin could look for a reasonably plausible explanation, the black-haired man spoke up. "Guys, you know what? I have a cabbage. Chris, Jeongin, are you guys coming with me to get some food? I really feel like pizza." And before Chris could protest, which he must have been up to, Changbin chattered on. "I knew you wouldn't let me down. You can always rely on my baby and my favorite Australian."

And then everything went so quickly that Hyunjin only really noticed something again when Changbin looked into the kitchen again and looked at him directly. The black-haired man moved his lips, looking like he was saying 'Take your chance', then he was gone and a few seconds later the door slammed.

What remained was a nervous Korean and a confused-looking Australian. "What was that now?" Felix finally asked and looked at Hyunjin. The latter shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "This is your best friend, you ought to know his spontaneity best.", The blonde finally replied and tried to get his heart beating wildly under control. It was just easier said than done.

The little Australian laughed lightly and nodded. "You are probably right about that." He fell silent and looked at his glass, chewing his lower lip as he did so. It seemed like he was thinking about something. Finally Felix raised his head again. "Sit down with me. I think there is some clarification to be found." So this was it, the moment Hyunjin had waited so long for and which he had feared at the same time. He bit his lip nervously and nodded slightly, then untied his apron and sat on the chair next to Felix.

Immediately a sweet-bitter scent rose in his nose. It reminded the blond of a mild Australian summer night and of hot eucalyptus tea. About his last hours with Felix before he and his parents flew back to Korea. "Did you get the picture?" He finally heard Felix ask softly. Hyunjin smiled slightly and nodded. "Yes, I did. So it was from you after all." Felix looked at him and nodded. "Yes. I always carried it with me. And the evening when Chris and Changbin broke into your house and Chris burned your picture, I put it in your mailbox.", The Australian finally explained, whereupon Hyunjin easily put his head to one side, "But how did you manage that? Chris won't let you out of his sight for a second." "I was mad at him and ran away after he burned your picture." The blonde nodded in understanding. That must have given Felix the necessary time.

Felix looked at him. "Can you answer my question now? Why didn't you contact me again?" Hyunjin sighed softly and briefly pressed his lips together.

"After we returned to Korea, everyday life started again. I had to prepare for school and my friends were besieging me, so I pushed back our promise more and more. And when nothing came from you, none." Call and no letter either, I thought, that we had gotten into the whole thing too much, and then I finally dismissed it as a simple holiday acquaintance. ", The blonde finally explained and then waited nervously for Felix's reaction. He looked at him thoughtfully and finally nodded slowly.

"All right, in a way I can understand that. As a child you probably think differently about things like that, and I haven't considered that all along. I have to apologize once more for my behavior towards you, Hyunnie . "

Felix inclined his head slightly, whereupon Hyunjin waved aside, "What happened happened, Felix. We can't change the past, but we can do better in the future, right?" Those words earned him a grateful smile. The blonde replied with a gentle smile on his part, but he too had questions: "But why didn't you get in touch? What happened?" Felix's smile died instantly and he drank his cocktail ex. Hyunjin watched this with growing concern, and then Changbin's words came back to him. Hadn't the black-haired man indicated that something bad must have happened? He was about to give in, but Felix shook his head.

"A few days after you flew back, a fire broke out in our house. Nobody knows how this could happen, but we suspect a short circuit. It was at night, I can still remember exactly. And what else I remember, is that my mother pulled me out of bed and lifted me up in her arms. I was too tired, I didn't understand what was going on. Why was I woken up so roughly and why was my mother so panicked? Only when I saw flames everywhere I knew why. I can still remember exactly how the smoke brought tears to my eyes and how the fire had spread more and more. I can still remember exactly how my mother screamed when her nightgown was on fire Then my eyes went black, and when I woke up I was in a hospital bed. I was told what had happened. That I had smoke inhalation. That I no longer had a home. That my mother was in an artificial coma Ic h was released shortly afterwards, and my father and I stayed with neighbors until we had something new. And at that time I was hoping for a letter from you. Any sign that there was someone who was there for me, who thought of me. But nothing came. Nothing, absolutely nothing. I went to the mailbox every day, and every day I was disappointed. Not a letter from you. I was so damn sad, I felt so alone and lonely, abandoned in my greatest grief. And that's when I got to know Chris. I had visited my mother in the hospital and was sitting on a bench outside. I cried and looked at the picture of what you have now. A dark-haired boy came up to me. He'd also been there because his dad had an accident at work. But it wasn't nearly as bad as it was with my mum. In any case, he asked me what was going on and why I was crying so bitterly. And I told him everything. About the fire and not knowing whether my mom will ever wake up again. And from my friend who stopped calling me and left me alone. I didn't care. Who broke our common promise. After all, it was Chris who became my anchor and my best friend. After a few months we finally found a new home and my mother was slowly getting better. Eventually she woke up, and after several more weeks we were finally able to take her with us. And after a few years, Chris and I became a couple. I hope you understand now why I was unable to contact you. Your phone number and address were burned in the fire. "

Felix sobbed and wiped his eyes and cheeks with the back of his hand. Hyunjin was unable to say anything, let alone do anything. He felt like the biggest bastard in the world. And finally he could understand Felix. The whole time the blonde couldn't figure out why the Australian hated him so much. Now he knew why. His lower lip trembled and tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

Finally, without thinking about it, he grabbed Felix's hand and pulled him into an embrace. The smaller one didn't resist either, but clung to him, hid his face on Hyunjin's shoulder and cried softly. "And do you know what's the worst, Hyunnie? First I tried to forget you. Then I tried to hate you. Finally I realized that I couldn't do either." Felix whimpered softly. Hyunjin didn't say anything, then he knew that words were out of place now. Instead, he buried his face in Felix's soft hair and closed his eyes.

For so long they had lived in a terrible error that weighed heavily on their shoulders. The blonde could now feel all the more how the whole burden of the last few years had disappeared in one fell swoop. Maybe they were slowly becoming friends again. At least he hoped so with all his heart.

Tbc


	16. Chapter 16

"And you really just hugged?" Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "Yes, we really just hugged. How often, Min?", Answered the blonde, visibly annoyed, and sipped his drink. It was strange to sit here at the bar and sip a cocktail. It was generally odd to voluntarily walk to work on your day off. Why did he feel like a strange outsider now?

He looked out of the corner of his eye at his best friend, who was studying him, and put his glass on the counter. "What do you want to hear now, huh? That we made out? That we confessed our undying love and then galloped on white horses into the sunrise? Sorry to disappoint you. We ONLY talked and wanted to also ONLY try to become something like friends again. No more and no less, okay? " Hyunjin intentionally emphasized the word 'only' so that the last sparrow-brain around him would understand. What was so bad about reviving an old friendship and maybe even deepening it? The blonde didn't understand his best friend's problem.

The brunette sighed softly. "Well, I would have wished for something like that for you, you know?" He mumbled and looked at his hands. Hyunjin looked at Minho for a few seconds and finally sighed. The boy also managed to make him feel guilty every time. "I know that, min. And it will be there someday, just not with Felix. I'm glad when we make friends again and when his guy leaves me alone.", The blonde replied finally and reached for his drink again to take a sip. He knew what Minho was getting at. But it would never work out, and they both have to accept that.

Minho, too, seemed to understand that the subject was over for Hyunjin. He looked directly at the blond again. "How are you going to do that now? I mean, you would have to get to know each other again, after all, you are now adults and no longer children." Hyunjin nodded in agreement. "I know, that's why we have an appointment in the park for Saturday. Chris has to work that day, so we would have our peace then. Felix's wording, not mine. Let's see how it will go. Either we embarrass each other or it works pretty good or we'll kill each other. "" I'm curious which of the three options it will be. As far as I know you, you will embarrass yourselves to the bone, and that is guaranteed to be your fault. " Minho grinned cheekily and avoided a rather half-hearted blow from Hyunjin.

"I'm not that bad either. Jisungie is the one who usually puts us in embarrassing situations. And YOU, my dear, are sometimes not better either, especially when you are drunk.", Grumbled the blonde, offended, and grabbed back to his glass for a sip.

Minho was extremely unimpressed by his words. "That may be, but neither Jisung nor I have a date with Felix. So don't distract from yourself, this is about you.", The brunette replied with a raised eyebrow. Hyunjin would have liked to throw his glass against the head of his best friend at that moment. "This is a meeting, not a date.", He corrected almost desperately, "And thanks for your encouraging words, now I'm sure it will be on Saturday everything will go well. " The last words were oozing sarcasm. Minho smiled and shook his head slightly. "I would love to hear about your nice words, but since I know that you are not meant to be serious anyway, I can skip it. But joking aside, Hyunnie, everything will be fine. The first step has been taken , You talked to Felix, so you can now take the second step. And even if something embarrassing should happen, then laugh at it. You are only human, and mistakes happen to people. The most important thing now is definitely that you stay calm. " Minho thought briefly, "When do you have your date on Saturday?"

"At 3 pm ...", Hyunjin replied and looked at his glass with seemingly interested. In reality he was incredibly nervous, and even if he acted differently in front of Minho, it was difficult for the blonde not to classify the meeting with Felix as a date. They would just get to know each other all over again and, if necessary, become friends again. To have sky high hopes for this would be a fatal mistake for everyone involved.

Hyunjin was rudely pulled out of his thoughts when Minho excitedly clapped his hands and beamed at him. "You know what?" He began, and the blonde shook his head, slightly disturbed. "No, but I'm sure you will tell me in a moment." The brunette just beamed even more. "Jisungie and I will sleep with you from Friday to Saturday and then help you to style yourself. That way we can distract you a little and prevent you from hyperventilating or dying of a heart attack."

Hyunjin was about to protest, because he already knew that this so-called 'distraction' would consist of reminding him even more of the meeting with Felix. But he also knew how stubborn his best friend was, and even if he did not agree to the sleepover, the two of them would be bagged and bagged at his door. He had no chance of getting out of this situation, no matter how he twisted or turned it.

Hyunjin looked back at Minho, who gave him an expectant look and a sure grin of victory, and sighed in defeat. "Well, I can't stop you anyway.", The blonde finally grumbled and meanwhile regretted having even set foot in this club today, let alone telling Minho about the whole thing. Said best friend smiled broadly at him and shook his head, "No, you can't, you're absolutely right, my dear. But tell me, what else are you going to do? Besides talking, I mean."

Hyunjin hadn't thought about that at all. "No idea. Maybe go for a coffee or something, let's see what happens.", The blonde finally answered a little helplessly, whereupon Minho stared at him with wide eyes and shook his head. "I'm telling you, the date will end in chaos." "This is not a date, how many more times should I say that, damn it ?!"

Tbc


	17. Chapter 17

Hyunjin had made the mistake of forgetting that Minho and Jisung wanted to stay with him. Maybe he had just suppressed it or wanted to suppress it, he couldn't say it that precisely either. The blonde had been on his feet all Friday anyway, had tidied up and cleared his entire apartment (he had never seen his little realm so clean and tidy, and he had totally forgotten how big it actually was), had his Mucked out the closet (there were still things in it that he had put on at the age of 16, and he was now really out of age), had removed his pile of dirty laundry in the bathroom (and the wardrobe, which was barely full, was already jam-packed again full), and to top it off, he had started cooking. After taking a closer look at his finances, the blonde found that he couldn't afford a restaurant, especially not for two people. So he decided to lend a hand himself and conjure up a small menu. He just hoped Felix would like it. By god, he really did act like he was on a date with the Australian.

Hyunjin was preparing dessert when the doorbell rang. Amazed who it could be, he briefly wiped his chocolate-smeared hands on his apron (he had finally managed to get one) and went to the door to open it. In the next instant he was faced with a radiant Minho and an even more radiant squirrel, both armed with backpacks. The blonde raised an eyebrow questioningly and was about to open his mouth to say something, but Jisung was faster. "Don't panic, we figured you forgot.", He said and pushed past a perplexed Hyunjin. He just stared after his colleague with wide eyes, then turned back to Minho. He had exchanged his smile for a smile and shrugged his shoulders slightly, then patted the blonde briefly on the shoulder and then also entered the apartment. Hyunjin sighed slightly and then closed the door again. A quick look at the cloakroom told him that his two rather cheeky friends had at least a bit of decency in them, because their shoes were neatly lined up in the shoe closet and their jackets were hanging on the coat hooks. Maybe the two of them won't stay overnight after all ...

"Wow, the cupcakes look good!" Jisung's enthusiastic exclamation made Hyunjin run into the kitchen and hastily snatch the little cake out of his friend's hand. "Don't eat, they're not for you!" Scolded the blonde and put the cupcake back on the cake plate decorated with a napkin, then looked sternly at his friends. "Can't you even act like grown men? The cupcakes are counted, I'll need them for tomorrow." Minho and Jisung glanced briefly at each other, then looked at the blond in confusion. "For tomorrow? But don't you have a da ... Um, I mean, aren't you going to meet Felix?", The brunette finally asked. Hyunjin sighed and tied off his dirty apron to hang over a kitchen chair. "Don't we want to go into the living room first? You can also put your backpacks there."

The three men went into the living room, there Jisung and Minho put their backpacks next to the coffee table, and finally the three of them squeezed into the sofa. Hyunjin made another mistake and took the place in the middle. Now he was helplessly at the mercy of these two gossip women and could only hope that they wouldn't ask questions or gossip about him.

"Well, I have to say, I like the new style of your apartment. Meticulously tidy, squeaky clean and the furniture is also different. Have you gone among the interior designers, Hyunnie?" Jisung finally asked and looked around with sincere admiration. Minho nodded in agreement. "I agree with Sungie.  
It's more stylish and grown up. Even though the furniture is still the same. Which changes can make a difference, right? "Hyunjin was happy about the compliments of his friends and scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Well, I thought it was time for change. And to be honest, it was also bitter", he finally explained, and it wasn't a lie. But it was only half the story. But they didn't need to know that he was quite excited about meeting Felix. Hyunjin, however, did the math without his friends.

"I think that's not all. You are guaranteed to have dropped the ceiling on your head with excitement, and because you wanted to distract yourself, you did a major renovation here.", Minho grinned broadly and gave the blonde who was caught looked at his hands and had turned red, a pat on the thigh. "Speaking of which we are again ... What did you actually bother and cook and bake so much for?" Jisung asked and saw Hyunjin curious at.

He sighed and chewed his lower lip briefly before answering. "Well .... Actually I wanted to invite Felix to a restaurant too, but I noticed that my finances weren't there. And then I thought ....." "And that's why you thought you invited him over you have already prepared everything for it. ", Minho finished the sentence, and the blonde nodded slightly.

"I think that's a good idea. It's more private and you have your peace of mind. Nobody can disturb you. Besides, it still tastes best homemade.", Jisung said finally and put an arm around Hyunjin's shoulders, while Minho playfully added "Our little Hyunnie baby has finally grown up. I'm so proud," he said, wiping an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye with his finger.

"You are such idiots, honestly.", Hyunjin replied, who had observed the activities of the two, but still had to laugh. These two full posts also managed to infect him with their good mood every time. "But you love us for it.", Jisung replied and laughed too.

And against all odds, Hyunjin said, "That's right." And smiled warmly. And this time it was the pure truth. He really doesn't know what to do if they weren't there in his life. This came true after an emotional, extensive cuddling attack later (during which Hyunjin had the feeling of being crushed with love).

"What do you want to wear tomorrow?", Jisung finally asked after he and Minho had let go of their victim. The blonde then just looked at him. He had been so busy with his apartment and the cooking that he hadn't even thought about his outfit for tomorrow. Minho seemed to have read his mind. "I'll help you choose your outfit and Jisung will take care of your hairstyle tomorrow. You have such great hair that you can do more with it than just a pigtail." Hyunjin knew there was no point in arguing and nodded slightly. "If you don't mind ....." "Nonsense, Min and I will be happy to help you! I promise you, you will look so horny that Felix will melt even at minus 50 degrees!" "Good gracious, we don't have a date!"

Tbc.


	18. Chapter 18

Hyunjin was standing there at the entrance to the park, nervously looking at his watch. He was way too early, but he couldn't take it anymore because of his nervousness, because even his two friends couldn't do anything about it. The blond sighed, trembling, and ran his fingers through his slightly wavy, loose hair. They weren't messy or bothering him, he just had to do something. The slight waves had been Jisung's idea, as had the fact that he had accentuated his eyes with eyeliner. It wasn't much and it wasn't strong either, but Hyunjin felt strange having any color on his face. And Minho had picked out a black turtleneck, beige trousers and a white quilted jacket, with the comment that Hyunjin was more of the elegant guy and could show it more often. So far, however, the blonde had never really had a reason to clean up.

Another look at the clock, which told him he still had half an hour to spare. He rubbed his cold hands and rocked his feet back and forth. January was slowly coming to an end and February was already knocking on the door, but it would be a while before it would be comfortably warm again. Hyunjin had nothing against winter and also not against snow and cold, but he couldn't stand this weather for very long. He was more of a summer person who liked to swim in the sea and on mild summer nights, lying on a meadow, watched the stars. Or he sat all afternoon in one of the many ice cream parlors and sipped a latte macchiato while he read. The blonde was already looking forward to this time.

"Hey, have you been waiting a long time?" A deep voice tore him from his thoughts and he looked directly into Felix's eyes. The smaller one smiled at him with beaming eyes and Hyunjin had to pull himself together not to count the freckles that spread like stars on Felix's cheeks. The blonde gave the Australian a friendly smile and shook his head slightly. "No, I've only been here for a few minutes," he replied, even if 'a few minutes' didn't have much in common with almost two hours, and then took a moment to look at Felix. The smaller one wore a dark gray plaid coat that went just over his thighs, dark jeans and a cap. His blond pony peeked out from under the black wool and fell into his face. He was just damn pretty. Too handsome.

By chance, Hyunjin noticed that Felix was laughing slightly and looked at him in confusion. "What's so funny?" He wanted to know. "I just noticed that you are still a little daydreamer. Always with your thoughts somewhere else than in reality.", The Australian replied, amused, whereupon the blond got hot ears. "Well, you should still be able to dream a little, right? Our imagination is more colorful than gray reality.", Hyunjin finally replied, embarrassed. Felix didn't reply, probably he didn't know what, but he grabbed Hyunjin's arm and raked himself in. "Let's go for a walk, Hyunnie. We have a lot to tell each other.", The smaller one finally said and smiled again. Hyunjin noticed that Felix was a little shorter than him. But not very much, maybe half a head or so. The blonde nodded in response to Felix's words, and the two of them set off.

Hyunjin couldn't remember the last time he'd talked so much. When was the last time he laughed so much. When was the last time he felt so comfortable. It felt like he'd found something again. Something he'd left behind a long time ago. Something that made him perfect again. At some point he had taken the Australian's hand and interlaced their fingers. It was almost the same as when they were children, and yet somehow different. And in the meantime he had brought them a coffee-to-go so that they could somehow warm themselves up. It was almost like a date. But only almost.

When it began to get dark and it was getting colder, Hyunjin looked briefly at his watch and then again at Felix, who eyed him curiously. The blonde bit his lower lip briefly. "Are you maybe hungry? I cooked.", He asked almost shyly and in the next moment mentally slapped his hand against his forehead. He had just sounded seriously like a mad, nervous schoolgirl rather than a grown up, confident young man. It was clear that something embarrassing had to happen to him again. The Australian raised an eyebrow in amazement, he probably hadn't expected something like that. But then the corners of his mouth rose again and he nodded. "Sure. I'm curious whether you can cook as well as mix cocktails.", Felix answered, whereupon Hyunjin grinned a little nervously. "I hope so too," he replied uncertainly and made his way home with Felix.

Once there, Hyunjin wanted to open the door to the new building for the Australian, but the Australian got ahead of him. "Ladies first.", The smaller one grinned cheekily at the blonde, whereupon Hyunjin stuck out his tongue. "You look a lot more feminine than me, you gnome.", He replied promptly, but entered anyway. "We'll see who the girl is here," he thought he heard Felix mumbling behind him, but dismissed this as an imagination. Together they went to the elevator and shortly afterwards were on the twelfth floor.

"I'm really curious what your apartment looks like," said Felix when they left the elevator. Hyunjin laughed lightly and shook his head. "Don't expect too much, I'm poor as a church mouse and you can see that on my four walls. In any case, I can't keep up with your designer apartment." "Hyunnie, you don't have to have a huge apartment and expensive furniture to have a nice home," the Australian replied with a smile as they walked down the hall and finally stopped in front of a door. The blonde unlocked it and let Felix enter before he entered his apartment and closed the door behind him again.

Meanwhile the smaller one had taken off his coat and shoes and put them neatly in their place. Hyunjin smiled slightly and took off his jacket and boots himself, then led Felix into his living room. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll make the meal while you are.", Said the Korean and smiled timidly, while his guest sat down on the sofa and looked around curiously.

Felix didn't look at him, but nodded slightly in confirmation that he had heard what Hyunjin had said. The blonde then went into the kitchen and had to take a deep breath. The day had gone better than he expected. Nothing particularly embarrassing had happened, except his stuttering pretty much at the beginning, and they hadn't smashed each other's heads either. That was progress, wasn't it?

Visibly more relaxed, Hyunjin took the pot with the starter, a homemade forest mushroom cream soup, out of the refrigerator and placed it on the hotplate that was already on. While the soup was warming up, the blonde took plates and spoons out of the cupboards and whistled a song softly. He always did that when he was cooking.

When the soup was finally warm enough, he put it on the plates, put it on a tray along with the spoons and a basket of white bread and carefully carried it into the living room. Felix seemed to have already been waiting for him, because he literally beamed at him when he saw him. "I'm not supposed to say that you were pretty fast or that you took a long time. Somehow both are true. And don't listen to my stupid chatter, I'm confusing myself right now.", The Australian added quickly afterwards, he probably had seen the confused expression on the blond's face.

Hyunjin blinked briefly, then caught himself again and smiled. "Then you just confused us both.", He said simply and put the tray on the living room table to distribute the plates and put the white bread in the middle of the table . Then he leaned the tray against the living room table and sat on the armchair across from his guest.

Felix looked curiously at the soup in front of him, stirred it a few times with his spoon and finally tried it carefully. "Hmm yummy! What kind of one is that?", He finally asked the bigger one and looked at him interested. Hyunjin let out a slow breath, he hadn't noticed that he had been holding his breath with excitement, and smiled, happy about the compliment. "This is homemade forest mushroom cream soup," he replied while taking a slice of the white bread. "I'm glad that you like it." "Yes, it is damn tasty. If everything you cook tastes so good, I'll let you cook for me more often.", Said the Australian and grinned broadly while Hyunjin the heat rose in my cheeks. Hell, Felix made him blush every time! The boy was definitely not good for his blood circulation!

"Well, that's just the starter. Main course and dessert are still to come.", Hyunjin finally replied and was glad that he somehow managed not to stutter. Felix got shining eyes. "I'm really excited about it. But now for something else. I really like your apartment. It has style and suits you." These words made Hyunjin raise an eyebrow in confusion. "How do you mean?" "It reminds me of home. And it feels like home ..... Oh, I don't know how to explain it." Felix waved his hand briefly and then continued to eat. Hyunjin, however, first had to register what he had just heard. But then he smiled and also spooned his soup. The blonde said nothing more, he understood the meaning behind the words of the smaller one and that was enough for now.

After they finished their soup, Hyunjin cleared the table and took the dirty dishes to the kitchen to be put in the dishwasher. A smile graced his lips, he was completely happy. After putting the main course in the oven to warm it up and setting his egg timer, he took two glasses and a bottle of red wine and went back into the living room. And again he was greeted by a beaming Felix. The blonde returned the smile and put a glass in front of the Australian to pour him wine. "You know, now only candles are missing and the atmosphere is perfect," said Felix with a smile. Hyunjin, who had just filled his glass, looked at him out of the corner of his eye, then put the bottle on the table and disappeared into the hallway, only to come back a short time later with two candles, the corresponding stands and a lighter. He placed everything on the table and finally lit the candles.

"So, a little candlelight, as the young gentleman wanted it to be.", Hyunjin said with a smile and Felix gave a slight laugh. "But that wouldn't have been necessary, my lovely host." And there it was again, the feeling of heat that spread to his ears and cheeks. He laughed a little embarrassed and sat down on his armchair again, then looked directly at the smaller one. "I'm sorry it wasn't a restaurant, Lixie. You deserved that more," said the blonde finally and drank a sip of his wine. Addressed looked at him aghast and shook his head violently. "Nonsense! I would always prefer this to a restaurant. Here you have peace and quiet, here you can talk undisturbed and it's much more private. In a restaurant, you quickly get the feeling of sitting on the platter yourself." Felix smiled gently and then raised his glass to toast with Hyunjin. At first he looked at him in surprise, but then carefully pushed his glass against the smaller one. He grinned broadly again. "To a new, common future.", He said enthusiastically, whereupon Hyunjin raised an eyebrow with a smile. "Isn't that what you want for New Years or some other special occasion?" He asked, and this time it was Felix's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Well, first of all we still have January, the New Year's month and I also see it as a special occasion. After all, it doesn't happen every day that you meet an old childhood friend and discover that even after ten years of radio silence there is still a bond. " Felix took a sip of his wine and then looked Hyunjin straight in the eye. "By the way, I meant it earlier. You look really good today. Even better than last time. I like your outfit, and the hairstyle suits you and you." emphasized your eyes. Now you can really see how beautiful they are. "

The blonde was sure that he had never blushed as often in a day as he did today. Could someone explain to him what was going on with the Australian today? Had he taken any drugs? "Shouldn't you be complimenting your boyfriend like that?" The blonde asked uncertainly, whereupon Felix waved his hand slightly. "Well, first of all, Chris is not here and secondly, I can tell you that you look good.", The Australian finally replied, and Hyunjin looked uncertainly at his glass. If only it had been that .... Hadn't Felix just tried seriously to flirt with him, or was he getting something wrong here?

Before Hyunjin could think about it any further, there was a beep. His salvation! "Oh, the meat is ready. Wait, I'll be right back.", The blonde said a bit too enthusiastically and jumped up. Felix looked at him and grinned. "Don't make me wait too long," he said, winking at the bigger one. With a pounding heart and a sudden desire to strangle the Australian, Hyunjin disappeared back into the kitchen.

The main course was rather simple, but he hoped Felix liked it anyway. He filled up and, as before, carried the full plates on his tray into the living room. The Australian looked puzzled and it seemed as if he was sniffing. "The scent sounds familiar to me," he said, puzzled. Hyunjin grinned and put his plate in front of his nose. "Australian beef curry for you, beauty," he said, hoping the compliment didn't sound too stupid. Apparently not, because Felix gave him a sideways glance and grinned cheekily. "I only see one beauty here, and she positively surprised me with her cooking skills."

While the Australian tried, Hyunjin sat down and watched him nervously. Felix did not wait long for a reaction either. "Well, first of all it tastes great and secondly, one more reason why I prefer to eat at home than in a restaurant. I doubt if there is any restaurant in Korea that serves Australian national dishes." "Definitely there, but I couldn't tell you where exactly." "Yes, but then it still depends on whether you can make it taste good." Felix ate another spoonful. "And it's nice and hot, that's how I like it." Hyunjin smiled in relief and ate some of the curry. Felix was right, it was damn hot. As a reflex, he reached for his glass and emptied it in one gulp. He heard Felix laugh softly and mumble something like 'cute' to himself.

The main course was also cleaned pretty quickly, and Hyunjin set about clearing up the dishes. He felt a little strange, he just didn't understand why. "I'll be right back, just have to prepare dessert. It'll be quick, I promise.", He said to his guest and smiled. Felix looked at him briefly and leaned back. "You would be fine for me as a dessert," he replied with a cheeky grin. The blonde then got bright red cheeks and looked at his guest with wide eyes. Was he serious or not? Where Hyunjin was sure, however, was that he just had to look pretty stupid out of the laundry, because Felix started to laugh. "Don't look so scared, Hyunnie. That was a joke," he snorted. Hyunjin blinked in confusion, then pursed his lips. "I hope so too. I already have enough problems with Chris, I don't need any more."

Felix stopped laughing and grunted slightly. Hyunjin saw this as approval, so he went into the kitchen without waiting for an answer. The dirty dishes were also put in the dishwasher, then he went to dessert. It consisted of liquid chocolate muffins that only needed a few minutes in the oven and vanilla sauce. The sauce was mixed quickly and the muffins were ready in no time, also because Hyunjin had spent the waiting time thinking. He took two cake plates and spread the vanilla sauce on them, then put two muffins each in the little sauce lake. He took both plates and two cake forks and went back into the living room, where he was surprised to find that Felix had blown out the candles. The smaller one seemed to have read his mind because he smiled slightly at him. "The lamp is also sufficient.", He explained briefly and tried to catch a glimpse of the cake plates. The blonde grinned slightly and gave Felix a plate, then wanted to sit down on his armchair. "Hyunnie, sit down next to me. You are a bit too far away for me.", Said the Australian at the moment.

Hyunjin stopped moving and looked at Felix, who was staring straight into his eyes. Biting lightly on his lower lip, the blond gave in to the wish, took his plate and sat down next to the smaller one. He smiled visibly satisfied and began to eat.

This time no word was exchanged, the two just sat next to each other and ate their muffins in silence. When they were done, Hyunjin wanted to cover the table as usual, but Felix grabbed his wrist and pulled him back onto the couch. The blonde looked at him in surprise and was about to ask if everything was okay, when Felix said quietly: "You have sauce on your lips." And before Hyunjin could react, the smaller one had reached out and ran his thumb over his upper lip. The taller froze instantly, his eyes were plate-sized and his cheeks glowed. Felix didn't seem to be deterred, however, he smiled at him and let his hand drop again. "So, better," he said softly, then stood up. "Come on, I'll help you with the dishes. You are not my slave, I can do something as well." Hyunjin raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "You are my guest and my guests never need to do anything if they ..."

However, he did not get any further. Felix had just grabbed the dishes he had used and had already left the living room. The blonde sighed softly and got up too. The Australian was really stubborn as a donkey. That didn't stop Hyunjin from smiling. Even if Felix was now a grown man, some things would probably never change.

"Damn it, Hyunnie, where is your damn kitchen ?!"

No, definitely not.

After Hyunjin had shown Felix the way to his kitchen and they had put away the rest of the dishes together, they now stood together on the balcony that bordered the living room and watched the stars together. The blonde smiled, it almost felt like they'd never been apart.

His gaze wandered to the Australian. He too had a smile on his face, and Hyunjin wondered what he was thinking about. But he didn't ask any further. First of all it was none of his business, secondly he didn't want to destroy the mood and besides, they weren't the main characters in any run-of-the-mill movie.

"At some point we have to go on vacation together in Australia. We all together. You, me, Chrissi, Binnie, Ginnie and your two friends." He heard Felix say at that moment. Hyunjin blinked slightly, it took him a moment to process these words. He really shouldn't be hanging his head in the clouds all the time. But then he smiled slightly and nodded, "Yes, that would be cool. But I doubt whether your boyfriend would like it that much."

Felix made a dismissive gesture. "Oh, Chrissie and you just have to get to know each other better. I'm pretty sure that you can become good friends too. Speaking of which we are talking about Chris ..." The Australian glanced at his watch. "Unfortunately I have to go, Hyunnie. He's waiting for me."

Hyunjin nodded slightly and smiled. "All right, I'll take you to the door." Said and done.

But just before Felix disappeared, he turned to Hyunjin again and smiled gently. "Thank you for the nice day, Hyunnie. I hope we can do that again soon." The bigger one nodded and returned the smile. "I hope so, Lixie." They hugged each other goodbye, then Felix waved to him again with a big grin and finally left for good.

Hyunjin then closed the door and took a deep breath, then went into the living room and plopped down on the couch. The smell of the Australian was still in the air, and the blonde could still feel his thumb on his upper lip. He sighed slightly. For some reason it was feeling pretty much alone now.

Tbc


End file.
